A Head Start

The Super Bowl remains one of the rare moments where culture and advertising collide at full speed. It’s not just a tentpole moment for sport and entertainment – it’s one of the only times advertising is genuinely anticipated. Viewers don’t skip the ads; they debate them, rank them, and share them. For brands, that makes the Super Bowl both a cultural jackpot and a pressure cooker.

This year, the stakes were higher than ever. A 30-second spot in U.S. broadcast reportedly costs $10 million, up $2 million from last year. At that price point, there is absolutely no room for dull, forgettable work. Every second has to earn its place in the cultural conversation.

 As expected, several usual ad suspects showed up. Brands like Budweiser, Pepsi, and Volkswagen once again claimed their seats at the advertising’s most expensive table, reinforcing their long-standing belief that the Super Bowl isn’t just media – it’s legacy.

 As always, the post-game analysis followed quickly. Third-party rankings from players like System1 and Ad Meter offered their verdicts on which ads truly landed.

What Stood out this Year

One of the most striking patterns: 7 out of 10 brands released their ads before kickoff. Pre-launching serves two strategic purposes. First, it minimizes the risk of being missed during the broadcast. Second, it gives the work a chance to build momentum – and even go viral – ahead of game day. Pepsi, Anthropic and Instacart were particularly strong examples of brands whose spots broke through early and generated viral traction before the first whistle even blew.

Another notable shift, this year leaned into humanity, emotion, and shared experience. Among the strongest emotional storytellers:

• Lay’s – Last Harvest: A powerful meditation on legacy

• NFL – Champion: Centered on empowerment

• Dunkin’ – Good Will Dunkin’: Tapping into pure 90s nostalgia

• Google – New Home: Made AI feel genuinely human

And while the Seattle Seahawks vs. New England Patriots showdown was the game’s official rivalry, the real Super Bowl drama spilled into the ad breaks – with Pepsi poking fun at its long-running tussle with Coca-Cola, and in this year’s most unexpected subplot, Anthropic taking a cheeky swing at OpenAI, proving that at the Super Bowl the competition isn’t just on the field – it’s in the commercial breaks too.

Still, the biggest cultural winner of the night wasn’t a brand – it was the halftime show. Bad Bunny delivered a performance rooted in Puerto Rican culture, inclusion, and joy. It portrayed the craft of music and entertainment, energetic, and unapologetically authentic – and it had everyone dancing, regardless of language.

The takeaway? At the Super Bowl, advertising works best when it tells a story people feel. With the Big Game behind us, the focus shifts to another global sport stage: the Milano Cortina Olympic Games – another moment where culture, patriotism, and brand storytelling intersect. Personal standouts to watch? Canadian Tire, Bell Media, Intact Insurance and Michelob Ultra.

 Because whether it’s football or the flame, the rule remains the same: tell a great story – or don’t show up at all!

For decades, the advertising industry thrived on a simple formula: bold creative ideas powered by media reach. Creativity was the domain of instinct and craft, while media delivered scale and efficiency. But in 2026, this paradigm has shifted. Creativity is no longer a one-off spark — it’s a living, adaptive system, engineered to thrive in a world of complexity, data, and constant change. 

When intuition meets intelligence

Historically, creative excellence was synonymous with human intuition — the ability to spot cultural currents, craft compelling stories, and connect emotionally. Today, that intuition is still essential, but it’s no longer enough. The most effective agencies now operate at the intersection of human judgment and machine intelligence. 

Real-time data, advanced measurement, and AI-assisted ideation have become core components of the creative process. Ideas are not simply launched and left to run; they are tested, personalized, and refined in real time. This fusion of intuition and intelligence transforms creativity into a dynamic system — one that learns, adapts, and delivers a strategic Head Start for brands seeking to outpace competitors. 

Creativity as an Engine, Not a Moment 

The era of the “big idea” campaign is giving way to always-on creative frameworks. Instead of a single hero asset, brands are building modular ecosystems: core narratives supported by flexible content that adapts across platforms, audiences, and formats. Creativity is no longer a moment in time; it’s the engine that powers ongoing relevance and resonance. 

Technology enables this scale and speed, but it’s creativity that drives meaning. In 2026, the most powerful ideas are designed to evolve — to live, breathe, and perform across hundreds of touchpoints. The modern agency’s role is to orchestrate these systems, ensuring that every interaction is purposeful and every connection is meaningful. 

AI as a catalyst for creativity

The rise of AI and automation is often seen as a threat to creative craft. In reality, technology is expanding creativity’s reach and impact. By removing friction, enabling rapid experimentation, and powering personalization, intelligent systems free creative teams to focus on higher-level strategy and storytelling. 

Human insight remains at the core, now amplified by data-driven tools that accelerate learning and innovation. The result is not the replacement of creativity, but its redefinition: a partnership between human imagination and machine intelligence that gives brands a continuous Head Start in both performance and innovation. 

The New Mandate for Agencies 

In this new era, agencies are no longer defined by traditional labels like “creative” or “media.” Success depends on the ability to build frameworks that live across platforms, adapt in real time, and drive both brand equity and measurable performance. Agencies must evolve into orchestrators of influence — blending storytelling, data, technology, and ecosystem design to deliver growth through connection, clarity, and creativity. 

Looking Ahead 

The transformation underway in advertising is not incremental; it’s structural. Creativity in 2026 is engineered for complexity, integration, and intelligence. For brands willing to embrace this new reality, the reward is clear: a lasting Head Start in an age where creativity is not just imagined but orchestrated for impact.