Team Picks: Our Favorite 2025 Super Bowl Commercials (And Why We Loved Them)

In the past, I’ve usually picked humorous Super Bowl ads as my favorites. And while there were some great ones this year (shout out to Liquid Death!), I’m switching things up and choosing “OpenAI: The Intelligence Age” as my top pick. I loved the simple yet striking black-and-white style, and I honestly had no idea what was being advertised until the very end. Bonus: OpenAI is a service I already use all the time. Actually…did OpenAI write this post? (Nope—but it totally could have!)

My favorite Super Bowl ad this year was the Pfizer “Knock Out.” I, too, am usually drawn to humorous commercials, but this touching 1-minute glimpse into this child’s battle with cancer really struck a chord with me. The accompanying music couldn’t have been better, with LL Cool J’s “Mamma Said Knock You Out” providing an upbeat backdrop for the first part of the spot, with slower, more emotional music playing as we see snapshots of the kid’s cancer journey. Go get em’, Pfizer. Nice work.

There were a few ads this year I had some pretty visceral negative responses to. (Flesh hats? Really, Tubi? Would love to unsee that…) But the one ad that got a laugh out of me was Ram’s “Goldilocks and the Three Trucks” spot with Glen Powell.

I’ve always found it amusing that auto commercials will often depict their high-end car driving around volcanoes, to the very edges of cliffs, underneath waterfalls, or up sand dunes. I don’t know anyone who actually does those things with their car (well, maybe Jeff in Hawaii😜). This ad, to me, parodied those other commercials and showed even more unlikely and ridiculous scenarios, such as fighting off fire-breathing dragons and jumping over a volcano, all while flexing the cool features of Ram Trucks.

Instacart’s Super Bowl commercial won me over with its *chef’s kiss* blend of nostalgia and humor. I mean, how can you not love a grocery delivery squad led by the Kool-Aid Man and Mr. Clean? Watching the Pillsbury Doughboy giggle his way through the ad had me feeling like a kid again. Beyond the fun, Instacart nailed the marketing game by tying beloved brand mascots to their service, making it, in my opinion, unforgettable. By tapping into childhood memories while showcasing everyday convenience, they built an emotional connection with their audience—and that’s what great marketing is all about. Bonus points for the surprise dachshund hot dog moment!

Honorable mentions:

• Doritos (out-of-this-world crunch)
• Hellman’s (I’ll have what she’s having💀💀💀)

I always wait for the next day to watch the Super Bowl ads. This year’s offerings didn’t disappoint. A few of them were weird, a few of them made me laugh, and a few of them touched my heart.

My pick this year is Coors Light’s Slow Monday ad spot featuring sloths dressed as people doing people stuff but at a humorously slow pace. I don’t fear Mondays, but I identify with the fact that sometimes we have to do things that we’d rather not do. Sometimes, it feels like those things take for–ev–er!