Admire or Ad Mire? I Vociferously Choose Admire

I’ve worked in advertising for 25 years, and I still got misty watching an ad during Super Bowl LIX. (Thanks to the Google Pixel folks for tugging at my heartstrings.) That’s what we’re all supposed to be doing—identifying that human insight that connects the brands we work on with the audience(s) they serve. We missed the mark if there was no poignant point, visceral emotion or sense of discovery delivered in the ad. Well, IMHO, there were quite a few pieces of excellent work during this year’s match-up.

“Monday, Monday. Can’t trust that day.”

Ya know what stood out to me this year? The sloths—and the insight that inspired Coors Light to create them: that feeling the Monday after the Super Bowl, the sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament (credit: Dr. Evil). There are four or five LOL moments in that spot, and that’s one of the big things I’m here for—FUN!

The other one? Inspiration. That could come in the form of a spot that pumps me up, or it could come in the form of an idea that motivates me to come up with ideas myself. We got both of those.

“You can’t win. So win.”

The Nike “So Win.” spot won the pump-up prize. Shockingly, Nike hasn’t run a Super Bowl spot in almost 30 years, which seems odd given how many great pieces they’ve made. In 2025, they had a statement they wanted to make, which one can’t help but think is related to the cultural climate in the U.S. This spot was about women’s sports, specifically the hate, negativity and relentless bullshit aimed at what women CAN’T do. Shot beautifully, starring some of the brightest lights in women’s sports, narrated by Grammy winner Doechii and set to “Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin, this is what a Super Bowl ad should be. Memorable, leveraging real friction that exists and unafraid of anything or anyone. 

Time is a flat Cirkul.

Was it too obvious to pick a Nike spot to highlight? Okay, how about this one: Cirkul, a brand whose high-tech bottle helps you enjoy the flavor of what you’re drinking while also hydrating. The spot featured the beloved comedic actor, Adam DeVine, who mistakenly orders 100,000 Cirkul bottles instead of just the one bottle his wife asked him to get.

Strong acting and great directing (Peter Berg of Friday Night Lights and Lone Survivor fame), but, more importantly, an idea that extended beyond the game broadcast in an experiential way. The twist in the spot was that all 100,000 of the extra bottles were being shipped out, landing on people’s doorsteps during the day or evening of the Super Bowl. They promoted the hashtag #YouGotCirkul so people around the nation could post the Cirkul bottle they received. Personally, that’s the kind of idea that impresses and inspires me to push my thinking.

A tip of the cap to creators.

I’ve revisited these spots (and many others) over the past day or so, and I keep noticing more and more details that I respect. I do my fair share of talking shit about some of the ads I don’t think are great, but I prefer to celebrate the greatness of a beloved form of, in my eyes, entertainment. Jeremy Strong rising Harkonnen-style out of a vat of coffee grounds. The competitive fire in Willem Dafoe’s voice as he says, “I smell Ultra.” Liquid Death’s mantra, “Drink on the job.” I mean, come on, that’s great. (It’s water, people!)

A full-on suspension of any skepticism or jaded snark allows all of us in “The Biz” to have fun, laugh a little, maybe even well up and be impressed by the imaginations of our fellow creators. That’s what’s cool about the Super Bowl. And that the Chiefs lost.