AI Ads Dominate 2025 Super Bowl

The Super Bowl this year was more than just a football game; it was a showcase for AI in advertising. While the Eagles dominated the field and Kendrick Lamar rocked the halftime show, AI stole the spotlight in several high-profile commercials.

OpenAI

OpenAI made its Super Bowl debut with an ad aimed at introducing ChatGPT to a wider audience. The commercial, their first big marketing push, used a pointillism style with black and white dots to depict historical milestones like the lightbulb's invention, the moon landing, and the first email, culminating in the rise of generative AI. The message? Big achievements start with small steps. But opinions were split; some thought the ad fell flat, while others appreciated it. This mixed reaction isn't surprising, given OpenAI's polarizing nature. The ad follows their recent rebranding, which included a new logo and typeface, and used the same black dot motif in their announcement video.

Google

Google seized the moment to flaunt its Gemini chatbot to millions of viewers. The ad showed a father using the AI to balance preparing for a dream job interview while raising his daughter and teaching her life lessons. It was a heartwarming spot, unlike a previous Google ad on YouTube that stirred some controversy. That ad, set in a Wisconsin cheese mart, aimed to show how small businesses use AI in Google Workspace. But it hit a snag when the Gemini chatbot cited a potentially inaccurate fact about gouda cheese consumption. Google's president of cloud applications, Jerry Dischler, clarified that the data came from cheese.com, but many still questioned its accuracy. The video was later edited to remove the stat. This incident reminds us that even big tech companies can stumble with AI's "hallucinations."

Meta

Meta's ad for its Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses featured Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, and Kris Jenner exploring an art gallery. While Pratt used the AI glasses to learn about the art, Hemsworth humorously ate an expensive banana, referencing a $6.2 million piece by Justin Sun. The ad, starring these celebs, aimed to make the AI wearables more appealing to the public. Mark Zuckerberg reportedly shared that over 1 million Ray-Ban Meta glasses were sold in 2024.

Salesforce

Salesforce's ad, starring Matthew McConaughey, showed how "AI was meant to be." McConaughey races through Heathrow Airport after a last-minute gate change. The ad suggests that using Salesforce's Agentforce platform could have made his journey less stressful.

GoDaddy

GoDaddy highlighted its AI tool, "Airo," designed to help small businesses create professional logos, websites, and social media content. The ad featured Walton Goggins using Airo to promote his "Goggins goggles." Goggins humorously noted that actors are great at pretending, suggesting small business owners can do the same with AI's help.

Cirkul

Cirkul took a playful swipe at AI in its ad, with Adam Devine using an AI assistant to order a water bottle. The AI misunderstood and ordered 100,000 bottles instead, poking fun at AI's unpredictability. The ad also announced a giveaway of 100,000 free bottles to viewers.

Alongside these tech giants, startups like fintech company Ramp, with Philadelphia Eagles' running back Saquon Barkley as an investor, also advertised during the Super Bowl.