The Best Super Bowl Ads of 2026, According to Experts

Brands spent up to $10 million on a single ad spot, bringing in A-list celebrities and nostalgia-fueled entertainment.

Feb. 6, 2026 at 6:55pm

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The 2026 Super Bowl featured a star-studded lineup of ads, with brands spending up to $10 million on a single commercial spot. Experts highlighted several standout ads, including an "Jurassic Park" reunion for Xfinity, a Eurovision-style Instacart ad featuring Ben Stiller and Benson Boone, and a Rocket Mortgage ad with Lady Gaga covering "Won't You Be My Neighbor." Other notable ads featured Kendall Jenner for Fanatics Sportsbook, George Clooney for Grubhub, and Matthew McConaughey, Bradley Cooper, and Parker Posey for Uber Eats.

Why it matters

The 2026 Super Bowl ads showcased brands' willingness to invest heavily in high-profile entertainment and celebrity-driven content to capture viewers' attention. This reflects the continued importance of Super Bowl advertising as a major cultural event, with brands vying to create the most talked-about and memorable commercials.

The details

Brands spent up to $10 million on a single 30-second ad spot for the 2026 Super Bowl, according to Variety. The ads featured a mix of A-list celebrities, from Matthew McConaughey and George Clooney to Kendall Jenner and Lady Gaga. Experts noted that many of the ads leaned into nostalgia, with the "Jurassic Park" reunion for Xfinity and the Eurovision-style Instacart ad being standout examples. Other ads, like the Rocket Mortgage spot with Lady Gaga, were praised for their subtle messaging around community and current events.

  • The 2026 Super Bowl took place on February 6, 2026.

The players

Xfinity

A telecommunications company and subsidiary of Comcast.

Instacart

A grocery delivery and pick-up service.

Rocket Mortgage

A mortgage lending company.

Fanatics Sportsbook

An online sports betting platform.

Grubhub

A food delivery service.

Uber Eats

A food delivery service owned by Uber.

Dunkin'

A coffee and donut chain.

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What they’re saying

“It really feels like the money's back. People are going for it — not just with celebrity, but also the scale of things feels much bigger.”

— Zoe Kessler, Executive Creative Director at Johannes Leonardo ad agency (The Post)

“This is the one time in year that people actually are tuning in for ads instead of waiting to be interrupted by them. It's an amazing time for the best and most prolific brands out there to go make the most entertaining content they can.”

— Will Trowbridge, Founder and CEO of Saylor agency (The Post)

“Brands are never going to be polarizing, but ... I was really touched by that. It's really powerful. It's not political, but it is ... And they didn't overthink it. I thought that was really sort of charming and classy the way that that came together.”

— Zoe Kessler, Executive Creative Director at Johannes Leonardo ad agency (The Post)

“The fact that Spike Jonze made it gives it artistic credibility, combined with Ben Stiller — one of millennials' favorite comedians — combined with GenZ's favorite pop star ... It makes for an incredible combination that will hopefully pull in audiences from all over and give them all a sense of meaning.”

— Will Trowbridge, Founder and CEO of Saylor agency (The Post)

“Seeing some of our favorite celebrities poke fun at themselves. I think that really just shows creates relate ability more than anything.”

— Magda Tomaszewski, Group Business Director at RGA (The Post)

The takeaway

The 2026 Super Bowl ads showcased brands' willingness to invest heavily in high-profile entertainment and celebrity-driven content to capture viewers' attention, reflecting the continued importance of Super Bowl advertising as a major cultural event. Brands utilized nostalgia, humor, and subtle messaging around community and current events to create memorable and talked-about commercials.