Super Bowl Ad Review 2025

HEARTWARMING, NOSTALGIC, AND FUNNY ADS SUCCEED WHILE IRONY FALLS FLAT

Heading into the big weekend and for the fifth year in a row, we looked at this season’s early-released Super Bowl ads.

This weekend, the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles go head-to-head in Super Bowl LIX. In anticipation of the Big Game, we put twenty of the most highly anticipated Super Bowl ads head-to-head to see how they measure up in the eyes of viewers.

Among the twenty ads tested, the NFL, Budweiser, and Booking.com deliver the highest-rated commercials. Meanwhile, Zeam misses the mark, ranking last in the lineup.

ON TARGET VS. MISSED THE MARK
(TOP 3 VS. LOWEST PERFORMER)

Q: Overall, how would you rate this commercial? (One of the best or Good)

This year, the NFL and Budweiser create short yet clear and captivating stories that pull at viewers’ heartstrings. Meanwhile, Bookings.com opts for a precise blend of nostalgia and humor, featuring everyone’s favorite childhood puppets as they tackle adult problems, ultimately creating an entertaining and relatable ad.

Rank 1: NFL | Born to Play

THE NFL KICKS OFF ITS BIGGEST NIGHT WITH A HEARTWARMING AD

The NFL leads our tested ads with a heartwarming story of Kwesi, a young boy in Ghana with dreams of playing in the NFL. As Kwesi runs through the streets of Accra and finds the NFL International Player Pathway Program, viewers are reminded that it “doesn’t matter where you’re born, as long as you’re born to play”.

Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X are impressed by Kwesi’s moves – consistently increasing their ratings as he stars in an NFL game on his way to school. Boomers, however, maintain lower ratings throughout the ad, seemingly unimpressed by the young boy’s dreams, at least until he arrives at the field and meets Osi Umenyiora, where Boomers then move their sliders towards “Excellent Commercial” until the end.

Q: Overall, how would you rate this commercial?

Rank 2: Budweiser | Special Delivery

BUDWEISER CONTINUES TO DELIVER BOTH BEER AND TOP-TIER ADS

Budweiser successfully defends its legacy as a Super Bowl commercial heavyweight, with this year’s ad featuring an adorable Clydesdale foal who is deemed too little to join the rest of the troop in delivering beer. Upon discovering a keg left behind, the tiny tyke makes it his mission to ensure it gets delivered – stealing the hearts of thirsty bar patrons and viewers alike.

Ratings steadily climb among Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers throughout the ad, and Gen X respondents are especially impressed when the foal finally rolls the keg into the bar. Gen Z respondents, however, indicate consistently lower ratings than the other generations throughout the commercial.

Q: Overall, how would you rate this commercial?

Rank 3: Booking.com | The Muppets

THE MUPPETS FIND THE PERFECT VACATION

Booking.com joins forces with The Muppets, who cycle through all the vacation vibes – from boutique, to family-friendly, to not family-friendly, and even an option for those who “hate everything” – proving that Booking.com has something for everyone.

As the commercial opens on the Muppets’ beach vacation, all generations move their sliders towards “Excellent Commercial”. Ratings level off after this opening scene, but Gen X indicates some notable fluctuations, with their ratings dipping after the family sitting on the leopard skin bed and again after the bachelorette party in Vegas but then reaching a peak when the commercial mentions free cancelations.

Q: Overall, how would you rate this commercial?

Rank 20: ZEAM | John Stamos

UNNECESSARY CELEBRITY SPOKESPERSON SCHTICK FALLS FLAT

As it makes its Super Bowl commercial debut, Zeam teams up with John Stamos who plays the part of an “Unnecessary Celebrity Spokesperson”. However, the irony and humor of the commercial is lost on viewers, who rate it significantly lower than all other tested ads.

While ratings among all generations are relatively aligned in the beginning of the commercial, they diverge as Stamos’s attempt to sell Zeam continues. By the time he brings out his guitar and desperately tries to write a jingle, Gen Z indicates notably higher ratings than other generations, Boomers hold their low ratings steady, while Millennials and Gen X fall somewhere in between.

Q: Overall, how would you rate this commercial?

SUPER BOWL LIX: WHO WILL WIN?

When asked who they think will win the Super Bowl, the Kansas City Chiefs come out as a clear favorite, with 57% of respondents predicting the reigning champs will win again (vs. 37% who predict the Philadelphia Eagles will win). According to respondents, the Chiefs’ strong team dynamics, successful track record, and key players like Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce are all key advantages in Sunday’s big game.

METHODOLOGY

In the days leading up to Sunday’s Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, Mercury Analytics conducted a survey including dial-tests of twenty commercials of popular brands that aired in preparation of the event. These brands included: Budweiser, Hellmann’s, Doritos, Instacart, Pringles, Haagen Daz, HexClad, and more.

Mercury’s study tested the performance of these commercials among a national sample of n=1001 US adults aged 18+ who indicated that they were “very” or “somewhat” likely to watch the Super Bowl this weekend. Additional quotas were set to ensure the sample was representative of age and ethnicity demographic breakdowns in the US.

Respondents were first asked a series of demographic questions followed by questions designed to help understand respondents’ TV consumption patterns and likelihood to watch the Super Bowl. Next, respondents were each shown four out of twenty commercials and asked to rate their feelings about them on a moment-to-moment basis. Each video was randomly assigned, and each set of commercials was shown in random order to eliminate any biases resulting from viewing order. Respondents were then asked a set of questions to further evaluate the content they saw, and some final questions on who they think will win the Super Bowl as well as questions about current events.

As participants watched each commercial, they moved a slider just below the video to the right the more strongly they thought the commercial they were watching was “excellent”, or to the left the more strongly they thought the commercial was “terrible”. They also had the option to push a button that would identify a “SPECIAL MOMENT”.

Between watching each commercial, respondents were asked post-exposure questions to assess their opinions of the commercial and brand.

For more information on Mercury’s dial-testing, click here, and for more technical information about the study, please contact Jordan Kraft here or at 202-386-6322 x 322.

let's connect today.

better technology. better insights. better decisions.

1120 20TH ST NW. SUITE 350

WASHINGTON, DC 20036

202.386.6322 EXT 2