System1 has released early findings from its Test Your Ad Competitive Edge platform, Super Bowl commercials are resonating most strongly with U.S. audiences, and show the greatest potential for long-term brand growth.
Early testing indicates that ads from the National Football League, Budweiser, Ring, Dove, and Pepsi are leading the pack, generating the strongest positive emotional responses. According to System1, the highest-performing work shares several creative traits, including pop culture storytelling, recognisable music, exaggerated humour, and parody.
With a database of more than 100,000 ads, System1’s Test Your Ad Competitive Edge platform is the world’s largest collection of emotional advertising norms. The system measures viewers’ emotional reactions and assigns a Star Rating from 1.0 to 5.9 based on predicted long-term brand-building potential. Ads that generate intense positive emotions, such as happiness and surprise, tend to score highest.
So far, early-release Big Game ads are averaging 3.2 Stars, marking the strongest performance at this stage to date and significantly outperforming the 2.3-Star average for U.S. advertising overall. Since 2020, only seven Super Bowl ads have earned a five-star rating, a benchmark associated with exceptional long-term growth. This year, two brands have already reached that threshold before kickoff.
At the same time, System1 notes a growing challenge around Fluency, or brand recall. Fluency has dropped to a record low of 77 percent ahead of Sunday’s game, making it harder for brands to stand out in the crowded Super Bowl environment. Brands performing best on recall tend to rely on distinctive brand codes, familiar characters, or consistent celebrity associations.
System1 identified several creative drivers behind the strongest early performers.
Pop culture remains a dominant force. Some brands are leaning into heritage and origin stories, with Budweiser confidently embracing its legacy, while others take a lighter cultural approach, such as Hellmann’s playful “Meal Diamond” pun. Pepsi stands out for making a bold move in traditionally competitive territory, but System1 notes that its use of distinctive brand assets, including the Taste Challenge and unmistakable branding, ensures clarity around brand ownership of the moment.
Music is another major factor. Recognisable soundtracks appear across nearly all top-performing ads. Brands like Hellmann’s and Pepsi use music playfully to reinforce their messaging, while Budweiser, Ring, Lay’s, and the NFL rely on music to build emotional momentum. By creating peaks and valleys in emotional intensity, these ads hold viewer attention from beginning to end.
Exaggeration and parody are also proving effective. Playful takes on famous icons, cultural stereotypes, and even competitors are cutting through the noise. While humour remains one of the strongest drivers of long-term effectiveness, it is still underused in advertising. This year’s Big Game work shows brands turning up the dial, with exaggerated characters, scenarios, and visual worlds from brands like Bud Light and Hellmann’s that deliver surprise and emotional impact.
Based on Star Rating, which predicts long-term brand-building potential, and System1’s Spike Rating, which forecasts short-term sales impact, the current top ten early-release Big Game ads are:
- NFL (72andSunny), “You Are Special” — 5.9 Stars
- Budweiser (FCB New York), “American Icon” — 5.6 Stars
- Ring (in-house, Miniac and Bemo), “Search Party from Ring” — 4.5 Stars
- Dove (Ogilvy), “The Game is Ours” — 4.3 Stars
- Pepsi (PepsiCo Content Studio and BBDO), “The Choice” — 4.2 Stars
- Hellmann’s (VML), “Meal Diamond” — 4.1 Stars
- Xfinity (Goodby Silverstein & Partners), “Jurassic Park…Works” — 4.0 Stars
- Bud Light (Anomaly), “Keg” — 3.7 Stars
- Toyota (Saatchi & Saatchi), “Superhero Belt” — 3.6 Stars
- Lay’s (Highdive), “Last Harvest” — 3.4 Stars
“What’s especially encouraging with this year’s Big Game ads is how many brands are leaning into consistency, building on characters, promises, celebrities, and distinctive brand codes that audiences already know and love. With two brands already hitting five stars before kickoff, it’s clear that this is shaping up to be a really strong year for advertisers,” said Jon Evans, chief customer officer at System1 and host of Uncensored CMO.
Super Bowl LX airs tomorrow at 6:30 EST/5:30 CST/3:30 PST on NBC and Peacock. Don’t forget to check Reel 360 News on Monday for the rundown of our favorite spots.
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