{"id":35431,"date":"2026-01-30T11:14:41","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T19:14:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ispot.tv\/hub\/?p=35431"},"modified":"2026-02-09T08:29:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T16:29:24","slug":"an-early-look-at-this-years-super-bowl-ad-playbook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ispot.tv\/hub\/an-early-look-at-this-years-super-bowl-ad-playbook\/","title":{"rendered":"An Early Look at This Year\u2019s Super Bowl Ad Playbook"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Super Bowl can be full of surprises, both on and off the field. But some ad trends have withstood the test of time, even as the cost of Big Game airtime climbs each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, brands are increasingly following specific playbooks to maximize the impact\u2014and minimize the risks\u2014around these spots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What can we expect to see this year? Below are a few key ad trends to keep an eye on before kickoff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Celebrity Showcase<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The use of celebrities in ads has emerged as one of the biggest themes across the last 15 Super Bowls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2010, just 31% of Super Bowl ads featured a famous face. Celebrity ads overtook non-celebrity spots in 2018, and hit a high of 78% of ads in 2020, and remained above 65% every year since. This year\u2019s bevy of teasers<\/a> are loaded celebrities once again, with Kendall Jenner (Fanatics Sportsbook<\/a>), Emma Stone (Squarespace<\/a>), Andy Cohen (Nerds<\/a>) and Bowen Yang (Ritz<\/a>) leading a lengthy list of pre-game examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But does celebrity guarantee Likeability? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2017, iSpot Creative Assessment showed that single-celebrity Super Bowl ads actually had a lower average Likeability Score than the overall norm for the game. The gap closed over time, yet embracing celebrity (one or multiple) seems to have limited correlation to how much consumers actually liked ads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Download iSpot\u2019s Super Bowl LIX Transparency Report for more<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Funny Fuels the Big Game<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

During last year\u2019s Super Bowl, 71% of ads were funny\u2014and more notably, an all-time-high 85% of ads used \u201csafe\u201d humor that was unlikely to rock the boat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As recently as 2019, 41% of Super Bowl ads were seen to have polarizing humor. Yet last year\u2019s game was just 7%, continuing a sharp decline over the last decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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During Super Bowl LIX, the funniest ads were all from food and beverage brands, like Doritos, Pringles and Mountain Dew. And as funny ads (safe or not) have grown, heartfelt ads have become less prominent during the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those sentimental spots are no less likeable, though. Last year\u2019s most likeable ad, Pfizer\u2019s \u201cKnockout\u201d actually scored incredibly well for emotions like \u201cheartfelt,\u201d \u201cinspiring\u201d and \u201cnarrative.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n