Marketing Lessons from the first AI Super Bowl

The Super Bowl has always been advertising’s annual stress test. For one night, commercials are not interruptions, they’re the entertainment, making this stage brutally honest. If you’re boring, people tell you. If you’re trying too hard, people tell you. If you are faking it, people really tell you.

This year, AI wasn’t just behind the scenes. It showed up in the creative, and I felt it in my gut as  I watched the reactions roll in; the audience noticed too. 

At dig, we analyzed 155k public social posts with over 1.8B views reacting to Super Bowl ads to understand what people actually felt. Not what brands hoped they felt. Real reactions, in real time, across platforms.

Here are the lessons brands and agencies should take from the first AI Super Bowl:

1. The “AI slop” problem is real, and it’s sticky

These days, audiences don't just consume content anymore, they audit it, scanning for synthetic signals the way they scan for product placement. 

In our data, roughly 4% of reactions flagged AI as a problem. That sounds small but those comments punch above their weight because they frame the entire ad as “fake.” People stop talking about the idea and start talking about the execution.

You could see it in the language that was used; “Glitchy”, “Uncanny”, “Off”, and the one that keeps showing up everywhere: “AI slop.” It’s not a creative critique. It’s a trust critique. I’ve learned this the hard way. When people suspect the work is fake, they stop listening to the idea.

If your audience spends even ten seconds wondering if something is real, you’ve lost what you paid millions for. AI isn’t the enemy, sloppy execution is.

2. Nostalgia is the antidote to automation

While some AI-led creatives triggered skepticism, nostalgia kept winning, with iconic characters, classic hits, throwback celebrities, and storylines. 

State Farm’s Bon Jovi spot was the undisputed nostalgia heavyweight of the live broadcast. By leaning into 'Livin’ on a Prayer,' the brand triggered a high-energy throwback that resonated instantly across generations. Positive posts about the moment pulled 17.4M+ views, showing that a perfectly chosen anthem hijacks collective attention.

Instacart leaned into deliberate absurdity, pairing Ben Stiller and Benson Boone as a 70s-style disco-pop duo. Nostalgia is working right now because the best ads used it as proof. Proof the brand has history, understands its audience, and has been part of the culture longer than the latest trend cycle.

AI can mimic style, but it can’t recreate lived cultural memory. For brands and agencies, it’s a reminder that people crave continuity and want something that feels real, not just something that looks impressive.

3. Transparency is not optional anymore

One of the strongest signals in the data was that audiences care how the work is made. People were not only asking “Is this AI?”, they were asking, “Why are you not telling us?”

If an ad plays with a person’s voice or identity like we saw with Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Matt LeBlanc, and Tom Brady who looked de-aged in Dunkin’s spot, the audience immediately starts looking for the seams. Posts discussing the uncanny valley effects in that ad reached over 3 million views and 4K comments. When people spend more time debating if an actor's face is real instead of the brand, you've lost the room.

As marketers, we might need to start thinking about how we disclose the use of AI in the creative itself. By leading with honesty, brands can turn potential skepticism into a badge of innovation.

4. Celebrity still works, but only when the format fits

Celebrity isn’t a ‘get of jail free card’ anymore. When celebrities felt like a natural extension of the brand’s world, like Sabrina Carpenter for Pringles or State Farm’s use of Bon Jovi, audiences rewarded it. When it felt bolted on, audiences rolled their eyes. Uber Eats’ McConaughey and Cooper cameos leaned on star count, with comments calling the writing ‘stupid’ or ‘dumb.’

The brands that won created ads that treated the stars as creators. T-Mobile’s Backstreet Boys reunion was a remixable social moment and Rocket Mortgage with Jason Momoa worked because it played with his public persona in a self-aware way.

5. The real bottom line: craft matters more than ever

The Super Bowl is where advertising gets tested in public. And this year, the verdict was hard to miss: AI efficiency might help you ship faster, but authenticity is what actually wins hearts.

AI is reshaping production, changing workflows, timelines, and costs. But the audience doesn’t care. They care that it was true and if it respected them, and most importantly, they care that it made them feel something.

If there’s one lesson from the first AI Super Bowl, it’s this. Use AI to amplify human craft, not replace it. AI will keep getting cheaper. Trust will keep getting more expensive. In the end, connection wins.