What brands made the most of the advertising’s ultimate opportunity?

About 120 million people. That’s approximately how many people watch the Super Bowl these days. Give or take 10 million. That’s a lot of eyeballs to watch a game where, more often than not, you don’t care about the teams playing.

(The obvious exception being the year 2000 when our collective Titan hearts were ripped out of our chest at the 1-yard line.)

The Super Bowl is the greatest teacher and the greatest microscope in the first rule of advertising: make work that gets noticed.

Hopefully, most people love your commercial. But if some hate it, that’s ok too. Being forgettable and ignored is the one thing a brand must avoid at all costs. Particularly when 30 seconds cost you about $8 million.

Who were the winners?

Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award winning artist Kendrick Lamar steals the show

Recording artist Kendrick Lamar performs during the halftime show of Super Bowl 59 on Feb. 9, 2025, in New Orleans.

It was a quiet year for TV commercials, but good brands can show up anywhere.

The greatest diss track ever made continued its magical run.

Just a week removed from winning five Grammys, Kendrick Lamar doubled down and had an entire stadium (and ex-girlfriend Serena Williams) screaming his lyrics at Drake.

Tough to come back from that.

Uber Eats shows a spectrum of creativity and talent

Classic Super Bowl formula of celebs, nostalgia and football.

This ad did a good job of incorporating something for everyone with jokes ranging from 350-pound defensive tackles to Martha Stewart.

Google Pixel’s helpful AI assistance connects with audiences

Sometimes the best way to stand out is to zig when everyone else zags.

This emotional spot outlying Google’s AI capabilities was a palette cleanser between commercials featuring flying body hair.

Since AI kind of terrifies all of us, pairing it with the incredibly human task of raising a child made it heartfelt and relatable.

Tom Hamling is the founder and chief creative officer of Nashville-based advertising agency, THE MAYOR. His Super Bowl work has been named “Best Spot of the Super Bowl” by Time, Ad Age and The Wall Street Journal.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Super Bowl was a win for 3 brands including Kendrick Lamar | Opinion