&Barr’s Hot Takes, Hits, and Misses

By: Your &Barr Team

Ah, the Super Bowl. A time for armchair quarterbacks, coaches, and most importantly creative directors to come out of the woodwork and let the other fine folks at their parties know exactly why every decision was the wrong one. And though you may not have had the pleasure of sharing a couch with an &Barrian on Sunday, we’re happy to share some opinions with a little bit more nuance today. 

Jack Polly, Senior Copywriter: Am I allowed to say Super Bowl? Do I need to call this the Big Game Blog internally? I’m not sure. But what I do know is that making a broadcast spot is tiring and frustrating and a hundred other things, and only one of those things is satisfying. Because of that, I try and abstain from speaking too much about Super Bowl spots. I know there’s endless money and C-list celebrities to choose from, but this is still advertising: there’s always going to be a CMO with a request that doesn’t connect or some kind of personal agenda to accomplish. I have no idea what these creative teams are being put up against (Doritos excluded, since that came to fruition outside of an agency space), so I’ll refrain from offering my critique. 

Kiara Hart, Assistant PR Account Executive: It’s 2014, and I am 13 years old watching TV with my family. I mostly ignore the commercials until I hear “Run like a girl” and I see one of the most impactful ads I have ever seen. Dove was raising awareness on how we learn to mock girls and women, not taking them seriously in sports or otherwise. I watched that ad every single time it played, as I’m sure every girl my age probably did because someone was finally advocating for us. In 2025, I am 24 years old watching my first Super Bowl and I see a little girl running. The text on the screen says “At three, these legs are unstoppable. At 14, she’ll think they’re unbearable.” I felt like I was 13 watching the Like a Girl ad again. I know there are young girls today who felt just like how that ad made me feel back then. It was the only ad I remembered (aside from Coffee-Mate, please take action against whoever came up with that ad) due to its message. 

Sergio Moises, Growth & Innovation Specialist: Uber Eats’ “Century of Cravings” featuring Matthew McConaughey was a strategic success. More than just a clever ad, this campaign was built to drive real user action. By using a humorous conspiracy theory that football was invented to make us hungry, Uber Eats turned a simple idea into a season-long engagement strategy. Through teasers, celebrity collaborations, and exclusive app-based discounts, the campaign was able to push users to engage with the brand beyond just watching the ads. I liked how the season-long campaign led to a Super Bowl spot that showed us the “true story;” that McConaughey was right all along. Overall, I think this ad was able to position Uber Eats as the go-to choice for game-day cravings while boosting app downloads and orders at a critical moment. 

Karina Buitrago, Social Media Manager: The Nike Women’s Super Bowl commercial stood out to me as a powerful and inspiring piece. It celebrated the strength, resilience, and achievements of women in sports, showcasing athletes from various disciplines who continue to push boundaries and redefine success. The tagline “So Win” perfectly captured the relentless determination that women bring to sports. I loved how Nike highlighted the progress made so far while emphasizing the potential for even more growth. It was more than just an ad—it was a celebration of strength, representation, and the unbreakable spirit of women everywhere. 

Lynn Whitney-Smith, Director of Production: The 2025 Superbowl was very disappointing on the field and on the air, as far as the two teams that played the game, it couldn’t have been more one-sided. I found that the commercials were also disappointing, there were very few that were amusing and none really got me to say “Gosh, I wish I had made that!” Being in advertising, every Superbowl I watch the commercials more than the game and this year I fell asleep in the 4^th quarter. I wish I could say there was even one commercial I loved, but at least the Breast Cancer spot deserves an honorable mention for keeping me guessing (power of the girls) and the Jeep spot was more of a saga than a spot, but it was good branding. There were a couple of commercials that were gross to me, the Tubi cowboy skin hats, just creepy looking and the Little Caesars flying eyebrows—just not for me (hair and food, not a good combo). And don’t get me started on the Mountain Dew seal ad, I don’t get it, it just left me puzzled.  

Overall, the Superbowl was lackluster. And for anyone who pays that much for a spot, you’d think they would be better. I just think the ads were weird and unremarkable. 

Tyler Davis, Senior Digital Marketing Strategist: Super Bowl commercials have changed (almost) as much as I have over the years. I vividly remember watching Super Bowl XL in 2006—Steelers vs. Seahawks—on a small box TV in Flint, Michigan, just a 45-minute drive from where the game was held at Ford Field. A game ticket wasn’t in the budget, so I watched from home like the average American, commercials and all. One that stuck with me was Nextel’s phone security ad, where a man instinctively hurled his phone at a co-worker’s face to stop him from grabbing it—simple, low-budget, and memorable. Back then, a 30-second spot cost $2.5 million, while today that figure has soared past $8 million, with ads resembling mini-movies packed with celebrities. Beyond production value, today’s ads favor quick, meme-driven content over traditional storytelling, catering to short attention spans. It’s not a downgrade—just smart marketing shaped by consumer research and evolving media habits. As always, consumer behavior dictates the content—for better or worse. 

Christian Wojciechowski, Vice President, Creative: As someone who’s been in the room, in the line of fire, and pitching for you and your partner’s spot to be chosen—or even shortlisted—to move forward with testing for a spot in The Big Game, I know what the effort feels and even tastes like to be even considered to be one of only 100 thirty-second films shown for the world to judge. 

One out of 100 are crazy odds considering what it took to get there. I applaud every single one of the thousands of people it took to concept, create, film, mix, direct, edit, dress, style, act, grip, supervise, script, produce, location scout, drive, craft service, operate booms—and I don’t want to leave anyone out, so I’ll just say everyone who gave their blood, sweat, and tears (yeah, I’ve been there too) to create a simple 30 seconds of storytelling that will be judged by over 127 million people who don’t do what we do. 

Advertising is a life choice. Account people fight the fight, and creatives choose to be emotionally naked. To hell with common sense. To make something memorable, to create something that sticks to the roof of your mind, and for a client to give the go-ahead on a risky endeavor that is hopefully intuitive enough to create an emotional connection—and that could change someone’s life, even for a single moment—is why we do what we do. 

So to all the advertisers and to all the crazy ideas that, if shared in any other professional environment than an advertising agency, would have you removed and escorted out with a neat box of your personal effects—I say congratulations. Don’t worry about those who chastise you. Don’t ever concern yourself with those who just didn’t get it. You did it and made people laugh, cry, feel confused, and smile. 

It’s what we do. And to be clear, it’s not that we’ll do it again next year, it’s that we’re going to do it again tomorrow.