Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Dustin Rowles | TV | February 9, 2026
This will be a frequent complaint by now, but the Super Bowl ad game used to be so much more fun when it was all soda, beer, and chips. And now, the Super Bowl is dominated by ads for weight-loss drugs to counteract decades of soda, beer, and chips, and AI ads so that future us is skinny and efficient (and then jobless). The ads just aren’t as fun as they used to be, which is a shame because the game was an even bigger blowout than the score suggested.
Here were my top ten ads, and I’m really scraping the bottom to get to ten.
10. Novartis — All things considered, it was an amusing ad that actually felt useful, and utilizing tight ends to relay the message that prostate exams no longer require the finger was a stroke of brilliance (also great to see Bruce Arians).
9. State Farm — Not a great ad, but the celebs had arguably the widest appeal: Hailee Steinfeld, Keegan Michael-Key, Danny McBride, KATSEYE, and turncoat Jon Bon Jovi (you’re synonymous with Jersey, dude! You don’t introduce the Patriots. Jeez).
8. Turbo Tax — Turbo Tax is an evil company whose lobbyist got the Administration to shut down the free tax software, but it was amusing to see Adrian Brody making fun of himself in what may have been the first time I’ve seen him since last year’s Oscars.
7. Telemundo — They don’t have the full ad on YouTube yet, which is strange, but I thought the Owen Wilson ad where he learns Spanish to call a soccer game for Telemundo was pretty funny.
NO RANKING The Dunkin Ad — Fun concept to do a Good Will Hunting 90s sitcom ad with Ben Affleck, two-sixths the cast of Friends, Ted Danson, and Urkel, among others, but the use of de-aging technology was inexcusable.
6. Levi’s — A lot of butts, but still felt PG, and it was brilliant to end on Doechii.
5. Uber Eats — This ad campaign has basically been running for weeks, but I’m sorry: McConaughey razzing Bradley Cooper still amused the hell out of me.
4. Instacart — Ben Stiller played the perfect comic foil to Benson Boone in a short-and-sweet ad. This is what more Super Bowl ads should be like.
3. Squarespace — I think I might be alone in this, but I absolutely loved the Emma Stone ad for Squarespace.
2. Rocket Mortgage — I am a softie. Lady Gaga singing the Mr. Rogers theme, with all those good neighbors doing good-neighbor things, hit me squarely in the feels. We need more ads like this.
1. Lays — I got a lot of crap from the family for crying at a potato chips ad, but come on! It’s one of the best Dad ads in Super Bowl history. It killed me, and that version of the Keane song stabbed me in the heart.
