Tissues at the ready. As we gear up for the 60th Super Bowl – due to be played next month (February 8) at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California – we’re looking back at the Big Game ads that did far more than just entertain.
Let’s face it, when you think of the Super Bowl, it’s easy to be blinded by the star power on show. The seemingly endless catwalk of Hollywood A-listers, drafted in to deliver quick laughs for brands fighting to be noticed amid an increasingly crowded and expensive field.
But every so often, a commercial dares to do more. Over the years, a select few campaigns have gone beyond humour and hype – not only making us laugh, but also cry, gasp, and stick out our chests with pride.
In a period defined by uncertainty, division and anxiety, these brands attempted something braver: to build genuine emotional connections with Super Bowl audiences. The result? Ads that lingered long after the final whistle, sparked conversation beyond the screen, and reminded us of advertising’s rare ability to move people – not just products.
But which ads truly quickened pulses and moistened eyes? To find out, we asked our AI-powered creative testing platform to wake up from its post-festive hangover and measure the emotional impact of ads aired during the past six Super Bowls.
For context, the platform’s algorithm is trained on tens of millions of real human responses to advertising, enabling brands to understand in minutes the emotional and commercial impact of a video or image, without relying on traditional audience panels. This makes it possible to measure campaign effectiveness at true Super Bowl scale.
So, what did it uncover? Well, it found the 10 Big Game ads that managed to generate the most intense emotional reactions from audiences since 2020. So why now watch them below.
10. YouTube: “Life In A Day” (2021)
% of people who had intense positive emotional responses: 53.9%
=9. He Gets Us: “Footwash” (2024)
% of people who had intense positive emotional responses: 54.1%
=9. Publicis: “Monday – Working With Cancer Pledge” (2023)
% of people who had intense positive emotional responses: 54.1%
8. Jeep: “Owner’s Manual” (2025)
% of people who had intense positive emotional responses: 54.2%
7. NFL: “As One” (2021)
% of people who had intense positive emotional responses: 54.2%
6. WeatherTech: ““Scout”” (2020)
% of people who had intense positive emotional responses: 55.5%
5. Disney: “100 Years” (2023)
% of people who had intense positive emotional responses: 55.7%
4. NFL: “Somebody | It Takes All of Us (2025)
% of people who had intense positive emotional responses: 55.8%
3. Jeep: “The Middle” (2021)
% of people who had intense positive emotional responses: 55.9%
2. Microsoft: “Be The One” (2020)
% of people who had intense positive emotional responses: 56.0%
1. New York Life: “Love Takes Action” (2020)
% of people who had intense positive emotional responses: 57.3%