Creative or Cheap? The Emergence of AI in Super Bowl Commercials

By: Parisa Nosrati, Staff Writer Edited by: Savannah Stewart

Commercials make or break the memorability of the Super Bowl. Each year, advertisements broadcasted between plays circulate the internet, marking milestones in pop culture for their originality, humor and entertainment value. This year, however, AI dominated Super Bowl ads, with 15 out of the 66 commercials promoting or using AI. Some businesses included the technology in nearly every aspect of their commercials, while other companies, like OpenAI, promoted its usage. This messaging left some viewers facing a moral dilemma. 

“From a creative standpoint, it's going to make a lot of the processes more effective and efficient. What it's not going to do is help people come up with better ideas,” associate professor of advertising at Syracuse University Beth Egan said. Egan teaches students about the intersection of AI and the advertising industry, referencing her work in media planning advising clients in their purchases of Super Bowl ads.

Vodka brand Svedka used AI in its Super Bowl commercial featuring two robots dancing at a party with humans. Egan said this advertisement went wrong because AI thought of and executed the idea, not reflecting the brand correctly. The brand is supposed to urge audiences to unplug from screens and engage in real life experiences, which makes the use of AI to create the advertisement ironic. 

Many advertisements showed that AI can be useful to integrate into everyday life. Egan said Ring, a smart home device manufacturer, took a more human-centered approach to their argument for the use of AI by showing their new technology helping a young girl find her lost dog. 

The lowest-performing advertisements, such as ones by ai.com and Genspark.ai, were those that were entirely created with the technology, Egan said, for this eliminates that human approach that audiences connect with.

Dunkin’ used AI and digital retouching  in a commercial featuring younger versions of ‘90s sitcom stars. An Xfinity advertisement with the original cast of Jurassic Park had the same idea, making the original cast appear young again–having the same effect as the Dunkin Donuts advertisement and creating a sense of nostalgia.

“From a storytelling perspective, what both of those did really well was they tapped it in nostalgia. That is an emotion that is very rich for people when there's disruption, and AI is certainly creating disruption,” Egan said.

Adam Peruta, a program director for the Advanced Media Management M.S. program at Syracuse University, said we must recognize these advertisements were not only made of AI. Humans also formulated the ideas to launch their projects. 

Surveys have shown that Americans are concerned about AI’s rise and wonder how it will continue to change different aspects of society. Many people are worried about organic human connection and creativity being hindered, as well as decreased opportunities in the job market. 

Peruta is working on a research project that shows how audiences' reactions are about their perceptions, which are not always practical. His studies show that only 22% of consumers could correctly identify AI usage in advertisements.

“That tells me people's discomfort with AI used in advertising has less to do with the actual quality and more to do with what AI symbolizes to them,” Peruta said.

The audience is likely the most important aspect to consider when advertising a brand. Peruta said the fact that AI, a relatively new technology, is at the Super Bowl, the biggest platform for advertising, signifies a new stride in the advertising industry. 

“Maybe we're witnessing a turning point where AI moves from a novelty to a legitimate part of the creative process,” Peruta said.

Egan attended the Advertising Bureau’s annual leadership meeting, where she heard concerns about agentic AI–systems that execute a goal with little human supervision–in particular. AI should drive forward human creativity, not replace it.

Even with these concerns about AI, Peruta said that it is important to teach advertising students about AI literacy to prepare them for the industry, while Egan said she is concerned about her students using AI to write for them, for they are recycled ideas.

“It's just going to be the GPT talking to the GPT. If you want to stand out, if you want to be creative, then don't use it,” Egan said.

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