Ranking Super Bowl ads by emotional impact involves using tools like facial coding and attention tracking to measure viewers' real-time emotional and visual responses to each commercial, rather than relying on post-game recall surveys alone. This approach captures moment-by-moment engagement and emotional intensity throughout a 30- to 60-second spot, revealing which specific scenes or messages actually resonated with audiences.
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Entropik Team
Super Bowl 2026 delivered what it always promises. Big celebrities. Big emotions. Big budgets. But this year, something stood out even more.
The brands that won were not just entertaining. They were emotionally intelligent.
Using Entropik’s AI Creative Insights platform, we decoded the top performing Super Bowl 2026 commercials based on emotional response, attention, engagement, focus, and clarity.
Here are the Top 10 Super Bowl Ads of 2026, ranked by Decode Score and emotional impact.
Super Bowl 2026 Performance Comparison (Ranked)
Rank | Brand / Ad | Decode Score | Focus | Clarity | Attention | Engagement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Pepsi – The Choice | 85 | 77 | 65 | 30 | 80 |
2 | Dove – The Game is Ours | 85 | 61 | 69 | 50 | 80 |
3 | Kinder Bueno – Yes Bueno | 85 | 63 | 66 | 43 | 80 |
4 | Lay’s – Last Harvest | 84 | 74 | 77 | 33 | 80 |
5 | Ritz – Ritz Island | 84 | 73 | 68 | 34 | 85 |
6 | Budweiser – American Icons | 84 | 64 | 81 | 42 | 76 |
7 | Toyota – Superhero Belt | 84 | 63 | 74 | 45 | 80 |
8 | Pringles – Pringleleo | 83 | 63 | 61 | 42 | 78 |
9 | Levi’s – Backstory | 82 | 37 | 66 | 69 | 72 |
10 | Ro – Healthier on Ro | 82 | 74 | 77 | 31 | 72 |
1. Pepsi Zero Sugar – “The Choice”
Decode Score: 85
Dominant Emotion: Positive
Pepsi revived the Pepsi Challenge in a clever way. A polar bear chooses Pepsi Zero Sugar in a blind taste test, triggering a humorous identity crisis. The spot closes with a celebratory moment set to Queen’s “I Want To Break Free.”
Why it worked:
Smart nostalgia with modern humor
Clear competitive positioning
High energy and strong brand visibility
Strong balance of love and laughter
Pepsi managed to reference a competitor without losing brand clarity. That is difficult to do well, and they executed it confidently.
2. Budweiser – “American Icons”
Decode Score: 84
Dominant Emotion: Positive
The Clydesdale colt returns and forms a bond with a baby bird that grows into a bald eagle, reinforcing Budweiser’s long-standing Americana storytelling legacy.
Why it worked:
Emotional storytelling rooted in Americana
Strong nostalgia cues
Beautiful pacing and music
Memorable final reveal
Budweiser once again proved that heartfelt storytelling can still dominate the Super Bowl stage.
3. Toyota – “Superhero Belt”
Decode Score: 84
Dominant Emotion: Positive
A simple story of a grandfather buckling his grandson into a car seat evolves into a full circle moment years later. The grandson reminds his aging grandpa to put on his “superhero belt.”
Why it worked:
Strong emotional continuity
Clear safety message
Family driven storytelling
Sustained engagement throughout
Toyota leaned into trust, nostalgia, and reliability. It resonated deeply.
4. Ritz – “Ritz Island”
Decode Score: 84
Dominant Emotion: Positive
Jon Hamm, Bowen Yang, and Scarlett Johansson bring humor and “salty” energy to a tropical party setting.
Why it worked:
Celebrity appeal without losing product focus
Clear brand integration
Humor that felt light and fun
Strong recall moments
Ritz balanced star power with strong product presence.
5. Pringles – “Pringleleo”
Decode Score: 83
Dominant Emotion: Positive
Sabrina Carpenter builds her dream man out of Pringles. Romance, chaos, red carpet drama, and ultimately a pile of irresistible chips.
Why it worked:
Highly distinctive creative concept
Humor blended with emotional storytelling
Strong attention during montage scenes
Cultural relevance
Pringles embraced absurdity but kept the product central to the story.
6. Lay’s – “Last Harvest”
Decode Score: 84
Dominant Emotion: Positive
A generational family farm story ends with a surprise retirement celebration. The message around local sourcing and family legacy stood out.
Why it worked:
Warm, nostalgic tone
Music amplified emotional connection
Authentic storytelling
Strong brand values
Lay’s showed that simplicity and sincerity can still break through during the Super Bowl.
7. Dove – “The Game is Ours”
Decode Score: 85
Dominant Emotion: Positive
Dove highlighted young female athletes facing criticism, then reclaiming joy in sports. The emotional shift from tension to empowerment was powerful.
Why it worked:
Strong purpose driven message
Clear brand ownership of confidence
Uplifting transition in tone
High clarity and emotional recall
Purpose driven ads work when they feel authentic. Dove continues to lead in that space.
8. Levi’s – “Backstory”
Decode Score: 82
Dominant Emotion: Positive
Levi’s returned to the Big Game with a celebration of individuality, music, and culture. The ad featured diverse personalities across generations.
Why it worked:
Strong musical appeal
Clear visual motif
High energy performance moments
Inclusive brand positioning
After 20 years away, Levi’s made a confident comeback.
9. Ro – “Healthier on Ro”
Decode Score: 82
Dominant Emotion: Positive
Serena Williams openly discussed her GLP-1 journey, bringing transparency and credibility to the health category.
Why it worked:
Celebrity trust and authority
Clear explanation of product benefits
Strong clarity around pill format
Confident and aspirational tone
Health brands are entering the Super Bowl space more boldly, and this one landed well.
10. Kinder Bueno – “Yes Bueno”
Decode Score: 85
Dominant Emotion: Positive
A cinematic space adventure filled with tension, aliens, babies, and a glowing chocolate bar. The final “Yes” moment was memorable.
Why it worked:
High surprise peaks
Clear repetition of brand phrase
Strong visual focus
Fun and playful ending
Kinder Bueno blended spectacle with simplicity, and it paid off.
Key Super Bowl 2026 Advertising Trends
Analyzing these Top 10 Super Bowl Ads through AI creative insights reveals clear patterns:
1. Emotional Storytelling Wins
Nostalgia, family bonds, and empowerment drove stronger sustained engagement than shock value.
2. Humor + Love Is the Sweet Spot
Ads combining laughter with warmth (Pepsi, Pringles, Ritz) saw higher engagement than pure comedy.
3. Celebrity Works if the Brand Stays Central
When product clarity remained strong (Ritz, Ro, Levi’s), brand recall remained high.
4. Clear Messaging Boosts Performance
High-performing ads maintained strong Clarity Scores, proving that emotional storytelling must be paired with clear communication.
Final Takeaway
The Top 10 Super Bowl Ads of 2026 prove that:
Emotion drives memory
Clarity drives action
Story drives connection
AI drives smarter decisions
If you want to understand which creative elements are driving real consumer impact and how to replicate that success, AI-powered ad testing is no longer optional. It’s essential.
Want to Decode Your Next Big Campaign?
Discover how Entropik’s AI Creative Insights platform can help you predict ad performance, measure emotional impact, and maximize ROI before your campaign goes live.
Test smarter. Create stronger. Win bigger.
Frequently asked questions
1. How does Entropik rank Super Bowl ads using AI?
Entropik uses emotion AI and attention data to analyze viewer reactions to each ad, ranking them based on emotional engagement and predicted brand impact.
2. What makes a Super Bowl ad rank highly in emotional impact analysis?
Ads that generate strong, consistent emotional responses like joy, surprise, or nostalgia combined with high attention capture tend to rank highest.
3. Why is Super Bowl ad ranking valuable for marketers outside the event itself?
It provides real-world creative benchmarks and insights into what emotional and attention-driving techniques work best at scale, applicable to campaigns beyond the Super Bowl.
4. Does a higher emotional ranking always correlate with better business outcomes?
Strong emotional engagement is a positive predictor of ad effectiveness, but real business outcomes also depend on factors like media spend, targeting, and overall campaign strategy.
5. How can smaller brands apply insights from Super Bowl ad rankings to their own campaigns?
Brands can study the creative techniques used by top-ranked ads, such as storytelling structure or emotional pacing, and apply similar principles when testing their own campaigns.
