No matter which team you were rooting for last night, chances are you tuned into social media in between the downs and commercial breaks. And while there wasn’t much competition happening on the big screen, brands were competing for attention on the second screen (ahem, mobile devices). We’re here to bring some highlights from the commercials that drove cultural conversation online.
But before we get to the roundup, as a women-founded and women-owned agency, we need to first hold space for the instantly iconic Nike ad that is surely filling your feeds and sparking feels today.
The Breakdown
At the final two-minute warning, here were the trending topics on X (Twitter) around 9:09 pm CT.
Unsurprisingly, Kendrick’s halftime performance was out-pacing all other drivers of gametime conversation with nearly 50% more mentions than the official hashtag (#SuperBowl) of the main event. But as marketers, what we want to know is, “Which commercials drove cultural conversation?”
Amidst the listicles and reviews you’ll scroll through today, we’re dedicating our roundup to the weird and wacky. Because from our pov, the winningest commercials were the ones that left viewers asking, “Wait, what?” all across social media–driving earned mentions and engagements resulting in incremental reach.
Seal As A Seal:
I can’t unsee Seal as a seal… 🦭
— Christiano Co𝕍ino 🏴☠️ HeyChristiano.eth 💪🐸🎸 (@heyChristiano) February 10, 2025
Now you have to see it too. 🫣$Vine the #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/FqvYhZh4nM
Garnering around 60K+ mentions between game time and midnight, Mountain Dew’s CGI Seal as a seal will forever be sealed in our minds. The mix of celebrity, fantastical and musical elements had users commenting and engaging to the tune of 205K engagements on the unapologetically simple yet comical creative idea.
Something to remember: We love it when a brand thinks about additional extensions like dropping the song on Spotify.
How did that happen? Looks like Mountain Dew just dropped something new on Spotify. Now you can get a #KissFromALime ft. SEAL anytimehttps://t.co/HS8cBY8qoY pic.twitter.com/JbGsfu7rqS
— Mountain Dew® (@MountainDew) February 10, 2025
Coincidental Concepts: Flying Facial Hair
No, your eyes weren’t deceiving you. Yes, there were two commercials that featured flying facial hair…
While this conversation is more niche, it’s worth noting because of how the two brands turned what could have been an embarrassing moment into an unlikely brand collab that happened in real time. By the looks of the organic performance, both brands would consider this a W for the increase in engagement and timely action that resulted in two brands that didn’t know their commercials would lead to a cultural pairing that we can all root for.
Something to remember: Similar creative doesn’t always mean competition. The internet thrives on a “yes and” sensibility, which we’re happy to see Little Caesars and Pringles embrace and take flight together.
Tongue Touchdown
You might never look at your morning cup of coffee the same again–or at least not Coffee Mate. If you’re like us, you may have seen mentions including the word “tongue” or 👅, which then led you to do some searching to land on Coffee Mate’s Cold Foam commercial. Scroll-stopping, yes. Polarizing, also yes. Similar to Seal, this commercial featured the familiar sounds of a celebrity–the one and only Shania Twain–but it took it to the unfamiliar and absurd as a twirling tongue detached from the actor’s mouth and danced midair to a backdrop of fireworks. This commercial reached a level of nonsense that had DoorDash, Digiorno, and even Grindr flocking to their comments.
Something to remember: Google Trends is a quick way to see if moments on social are driving awareness and organic interest. For a moment around 6:48 pm CT last night, Coffee Mate and tongue were essentially equal in Google search interest for probably the first time in history.
Honorable Mentions
Here are a few brands that didn’t have a spot during the Big Game, but found a way to insert themselves into feeds and conversation surrounding this annual cultural moment.
Sparking social fire is not for the safe or risk-averse. You don’t need millions to make a moment and a little goes a long way if you put your community and cultural conversation at the center of your approach. Until next year!
