At Super Bowl LX (2026) in Santa Clara, AI technology became the main theme of commercial breaks. Companies spent record sums (up to $10M per 30 seconds) not just to showcase AI, but to troll competitors.
The Battle of Giants: Anthropic vs. OpenAI
This was the most discussed moment of the evening — Anthropic openly mocked OpenAI's plans to introduce ads in ChatGPT.
Anthropic — "A Time and a Place" (Series: Betrayal, Deception, etc.)
The ads portray Claude as an "honest" AI, while other chatbots interrupt important conversations with insole ads or sketchy dating sites.
OpenAI — "Now You Can Just Create"
A counter 60-second manifesto from Sam Altman. The ad shows a person's journey from childhood notes to complex code, emphasizing that AI makes creating anything a natural process.
Major Tech Premieres
Google Gemini — "New Home" — A touching story of a mother and son using Gemini to design their new home interior to match their old room.
Amazon Alexa+ — "Scary Good" (with Chris Hemsworth) — A humorous ad where Thor becomes paranoid thinking the "too-smart" Alexa+ is trying to kill him, when she's just booking him a massage.
Meta & Oakley — "Athletic Intelligence is Here" — A dynamic POV ad with Marshawn Lynch and Spike Lee showcasing new AI glasses for athletes.
Bold Startups and AI Creative
Genspark — "Take Monday Off" — Actor Matthew Broderick encourages everyone to take Monday off because AI agents will do all the work.
Svedka Vodka — "Shake Your Bots Off" — The first Super Bowl ad almost entirely generated by neural networks.
Base44 — "It's App to You" — An ad for an app builder where office employees compete to create AI services.
2026 became the year of real products and fierce competition over whose AI will be more human or more useful in daily life.