Super Bowl ads delivered massive reach, but only a handful of brands strengthened the trust and relevance that drive long-term growth.
“This year’s Super Bowl ads were really fascinating – a wide range of brands showing off, with plenty of celebrity overload,” said Tracksuit head of brand Sam Brough.
“What really caught our attention, though, was the clear difference in strategies, particularly between brands that capitalised on this massive world-stage moment to double down on their distinctiveness, versus those that treated the opportunity like a one-off stunt – all in pursuit of being ‘disruptive’.”
Has Pepsi just spent $8million advertising Coke?
Pepsi’s ‘taste challenge’ certainly put the brand back in the headlines, but not necessarily for the right reasons.
Brough said the misstep was pivoting toward ‘borrowed interest’, trading Pepsi’s identity for a fleeting tie to its competitor’s assets.
“By hijacking its rival’s distinctive brand asset – the polar bear – Pepsi are leaning on memory structures that Coke spent decades building,” he told Mediaweek.
“It’s a classic branding trap. You think you’re being disruptive, but you’re actually just reminding the consumer of the market leader.
Sam Brough
“Look at the margin gap – Coke operates at roughly 25% profit margin, while Pepsi sits at 10%. That isn’t a fluke, it’s a direct result of the brand equity they’ve built.”
Brough said Coke holds a 32% vs. 15% lead in consumer preference because it owns the psychological triggers that drive purchases, such as trust, lifestyle relevance, and a premium feel.
“While Pepsi is busy chasing a ‘taste challenge,’ they’re ignoring the fact that Coke dominates every meaningful funnel metric,” he said.
“Unless Pepsi can bridge these double-digit gaps in trust and relevance, this campaign is just an expensive reminder of why the world still defaults to Red.”
Man made out of Pringles: Sabrina Carpenter’s Super Bowl debut
Pringles launched an ad featuring singer Sabrina Carpenter building her “soulmate”, Pringleleo, out of chips.
Brough described the spot as one of the standouts from game day.
“Its partnership with Sabrina Carpenter allowed the brand to borrow some cultural capital from an ‘it girl’ of the moment, but it also avoided the usual Super Bowl trap of celebrity overload,” he said.
“Instead, the product was the hero, with Carpenter supporting the main act and helping to evoke the category’s main entry points around taste, desire and indulgence.”
Brough said the Pringles spot worked because it balanced nostalgia with contemporary cultural cues.
“Bringing back the iconic ‘Once you pop, you can’t stop’ tagline and marrying it with Gen Z royalty is proof that you can continue to refresh without losing your distinctive core,” he said.
“Clarity and consistency win.”
Is Kevin Hart a shortcut to trust?
Brands are increasingly partnering with celebrities to borrow cultural relevance and capture attention, but effectiveness ultimately comes down to execution.
Brough said Verizon’s Super Bowl spot demonstrated how talent can strengthen, rather than distract from, brand positioning.
“Verizon pulled a similar move with Kevin Hart. It’s a total shift in tone,” he said.
“Kevin’s brand is built on being a no-BS straight talker who calls it like it is, which is exactly what a telco needs when they’re trying to cut through the noise of competitors’ confusing claims.”
Brough argued the creative worked because Hart’s persona reinforced Verizon’s role in the category rather than overwhelming it.
“When the fit is that tight, the talent actually moves the needle on brand salience,” he said.
“Kevin becomes a shortcut to trust in a category that often feels like a minefield for consumers.”