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MVP Jalen Hurts speaks to Tom Brady on LFG
Philadelphia Eagles' Quarterback Jalen Hurts is Tom Brady's LFG Player of the Game from Super Bowl LIX.
While the Philadelphia Eagles dominated the Kansas City Chiefs in this year’s Super Bowl, some commercials also stole the show, with many going for easy laughs and nostalgia in an effort to stand out to the millions of viewers watching.
Ben Affleck brought back the DunKings for Super Bowl LIX, while British singer Seal appeared as a literal seal in a Mountain Dew ad spot, and Vin Diesel starred in Häagen Dazs' ad as his "Fast & Furious" character. Actor Glenn Powell, comedian Nate Bargatze, and singer Shaboozey also appeared in various commercials.
Ben and Casey Affleck appear in the Dunkin' Super Bowl commercial. (Credit: Dunkin')
Super Bowl commercials: What to know
The backstory:
Tim Calkins, a professor of marketing at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, explained to the Associated Press how this was a complicated Super Bowl for advertisers. Most ads were in development during the U.S. presidential election race last fall, so avoiding controversy was even more of a priority than usual, Calkins noted. The finalized batch of Super Bowl commercials featured a lot of simple humor, nostalgia and a few creative risks – but even that approach can backfire.
"That’s the challenge this year. Everybody wants to be safe, but you also want to be interesting," Calkins said. "Safe advertising isn’t the advertising you notice or remember."
By the numbers:
Standing out is important to advertisers who pay big bucks for a spot during the Super Bowl. Some of the roughly 80 ad spots during the big game cost a record $8 million for 30 seconds this year.
Memorable 2025 Super Bowl commercials
Dunkin’:
Affleck, a Boston native, brought back the DunKings ad for Super Bowl LIX for Dunkin’, but he was missing Matt Damon and Tom Brady. Instead, Affleck was joined by his brother, Casey Affleck, and former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick and his girlfriend, Jordon Hudson. The commercial also featured other cameos, including Jeremy Strong – who is seen dunking himself into a barrel of coffee grounds to get into character.
Watch the nearly 7-minute version here.
Mountain Dew:
Seal, a 15-time Grammy nominated singer, appeared as an actual seal in the Mountain Dew ad spot, which premiered in the second quarter of the Super Bowl. The "Kiss of a Lime" commercial also featured singer Becky G and the brand's newest spokesperson, Mountain Dude. In the 1 minute, 20 second spot, Seal sings a catchy tune about the brand’s Baha Blast beverage – sad that he couldn’t hold Mountain Dew with his flippers.
Häagen Daz:
Vin Diesel starred in Häagen Dazs' ad as his "Fast & Furious" character, alongside Michelle Rodriguez. In the 30-second spot, the stars take a slow cruise in a convertible to enjoy Häagen-Dazs ice cream bars. Ludacris then pulls alongside them in a Jeep and asks, "Hey, what happened to fast life?"
Little Caesars :
In the Little Caesars spot for its Crazy Puffs, Eugene Levy’s iconic eyebrows fly off and buzz around after he takes a bite.
Novartis :
Pharmaceutical company Novartis promoted early detection of breast cancer with a Super Bowl commercial titled, "Your attention please." The ad features Hailee Steinfeld, breast cancer survivor Wanda Sykes, and many other women spotlighting breasts in different forms. Toward the end of the commercial, a screen reads: "Over 6 million women watching today's game may be diagnosed with breast cancer." It also directs viewers to the website YourAttentionPlease.com for more information about screenings and other facts.
Ram Trucks:
Powell starred as Goldilocks in the classic fairytale with a twist for Ram Trucks in the 1 minute Super Bowl commercial, co-starring the Ram 2500 Rebel, the Ramcharger, and the Ram RHO.
DoorDash:
Bargatze saved so much money using DoorDash in the company's Super Bowl ad, the comedian cloned himself and even hired an opera singer that "sings me compliments."
Nerds:
Shaboozey took a stroll through New Orleans for Nerds' Super Bowl commercial to promote its Gummy Clusters. In the spot, he also covers New Orleans jazz icon Louis Armstrong.
The Source: This story was reported using information from various Super Bowl commercials that aired during the Super Bowl on Feb. 9, 2025. It was reported from Cincinnati.