The lights dim, the snacks are half-gone, and attention drifts between the game and the commercials—an annual ritual during the Super Bowl. But this year, the real storyline wasn't just brand competition. It was artificial intelligence stepping onto advertising's biggest stage, testing how far creativity can stretch before audiences push back.
For D'Amore-McKim Associate Dean of Research and Distinguished Professor of Marketing Koen Pauwels, what stood out most was how differently brands navigated the emotional tension surrounding AI.
“People feel both intrigued and afraid about AI,” Pauwels explains. “What stood out to me is how brands walked that fine line very differently.”
Some companies leaned heavily into the spectacle, risking alienation among viewers. A campaign from Svedka, featuring humanoid robots drinking vodka and short-circuiting their own wiring, left many viewers unsettled rather than entertained. Similarly, an ad introducing new features of Amazon's Alexa+ raised eyebrows by highlighting scenarios in which AI could malfunction in people's homes.
“These ads crossed into what felt creepy,” Pauwels says, noting that while shock value can spark conversation, it often comes at the expense of trust.
Other brands took a sharply different approach, grounding AI in human benefits instead of futuristic spectacle. Campaigns from Google and collaborations involving Meta and Oakley showcased how AI could enhance everyday life. By focusing on storytelling and tangible value, these ads resonated more strongly with audiences.
Still, not every attempt at using AI was straightforward. A campaign from Ring sparked debate by presenting AI-powered camera technology as a tool for finding lost pets—heartwarming to some viewers, but unsettlingly close to surveillance for others. Meanwhile, Hims & Hers promised AI-driven healthcare access comparable to elite medical services, a message Pauwels describes as ambitious but difficult for consumers to believe fully.
While AI's role in advertising might feel like a cultural moment, Pauwels sees it as something much bigger.
“It is a long-term shift,” Pauwels says. “Most advertising simply aims to maintain brand awareness and repeat purchase. AI greatly streamlines the process for creating, testing, and distributing such ads. The very best ads, those that persuade and last, will still be mostly human-made.”
Behind the scenes, AI is already reshaping production at a remarkable pace. Tools such as advanced video generators and AI-assisted image creation platforms are accelerating how agencies develop large-scale campaigns, allowing teams to test creative ideas faster and tailor messaging with greater precision. As a result, agencies are shifting their focus toward strategic thinking—ensuring campaigns align with brand identity, generate compelling ideas, and resonate with audiences.
Yet when it comes to capturing attention during cultural moments like the Super Bowl, AI may offer less of a strategic advantage than brands might expect.
“It has a novelty effect,” Pauwels notes, “but it also creates resistance.”
That resistance stems from how audiences perceive AI-driven creativity. Research shows that consumers tend to like advertisements less when they learn AI helped create them. Pauwels and his colleagues are now exploring whether that reaction changes depending on how AI is framed—particularly if consumers see direct benefits such as lower prices, improved products, or faster service.
In many ways, audience reactions come down to a simple emotional calculation.
“It really depends on whether people find it creepy or helpful,” Pauwels says. “Some AI ads were clearly unsettling. On the other hand, when brands showed strong human elements, the ads resonated very well.”
For Pauwels, the most successful Super Bowl campaigns may not be those that highlight AI, but those that use it quietly and effectively.
“A lot of ads used AI in some shape or form, and it wasn't directly obvious,” Pauwels says. “Those are typically the best. It's all about conveying emotions and having a good human story. Whether AI was used in the creation or execution is less important than whether the ad actually resonated.”
As brands continue to experiment with AI, the technology is becoming both a production tool and a subject of storytelling, fueling conversations about innovation, ethics, and authenticity. The challenge moving forward may not be how advanced AI becomes, but how skillfully brands balance technological possibility with emotional connection. In the world of advertising, especially on stages as large as the Super Bowl, audiences are not just watching for what technology can do. They are watching for how it makes them feel.