Instead of Creative Effectiveness
97% of the Ads Performed Worse for Women than Men
It continues to amaze us that an $8 million investment in a Super Bowl ad is accompanied by ad creative that is relatively ineffective. Super Bowl ads continue a pattern of behavior in which they average below the performance of ads for these same brands from the prior 12 months. So not only are most Super Bowl ads not exceptional, too many are not even as good as what these brands put out throughout the year.
The KPIs that Count and Audience Consideration
ABX uses a series of metrics that define effective, quality advertising performance that we call “The KPIs that Count.” These four KPIs comprise the ABX Index™, which correlates strongly with sales outcomes. To successfully drive brand results, a Super Bowl ad needs to deliver on each one:
- Clear Brand
- Message Delivery
- Brand Reputation
- Calls-to-Action
Unfortunately, the average score for this year’s Super Bowl ads underperformed in each one compared with same-brand averages over the prior 12 months.
Audience Consideration: Nearly Half the Stadium
Women represent approximately half of Super Bowl viewership. Yet this year, ad creative didn’t just “underperform” among female viewers, it left nearly half the stadium on the sidelines. The percentage-point declines in ad KPIs by female fans versus male were steep, including a 46% reduction in Brand Reputation and a 30% reduction in Call-to-Action.
Whether you call it a play-calling misread or a misalignment at the line of scrimmage, the scorecard shows a clear miss: you can’t win the championship with only one side of the roster in the game.
But kudos to Dove and Google, which produced the only two spots rated higher by women than men. Dove’s The Game is Ours is a high-energy spot with heavy clapping rhythm that shows girls coming together in joy to own their athleticism, ranking 5th in Reputation. And Google’s New Home features a mother and child having fun as they use Gemini to design places for their belongings in their new house, ranking 8th in Reputation.
The ABX Top and Bottom Five Ads by Rank
Having said all that, ABX identified several ads that knocked it out of the stadium. These were not necessarily the most entertaining, but they were certainly the most effective.The rankings below used the new ABX Sports Impact Index™, which was built from ABX’s syndicated database of 500,000+ evaluated ads. It compares sports-related creative to all other categories and media types, to identify the patterns that consistently drive stronger performance. These findings reveal what differentiates effective sports advertising across audiences, markets, and sensitivities.
The ABX Sports Impact Index reveals the true impact of the KPIs that Count in sports marketing such as Brand Reputation (+45%), Purchase Intent (+43%) and Any Action (+28%) over traditional GenPop metrics. So, the Top and Bottom Five Super Bowl Ad Rankings that follow would have had more impact on sports fans than anyone else. (For the list of all Super Bowl 2026 ad rankings by ABX, click here.)
Top Five:
Let’s take a closer look at the top two.
Lays – #1 – Last Harvest
This ad rates first in the ABX Sports Impact Index, Clear Brand and Call-to-Action, and 7th in Reputation – and it’s easy to see why. It is highly emotional and family-centric; it shows the great care that goes in to growing potatoes worthy of becoming Lay’s; and it highlights inclusivity with a female entrepreneur being entrusted by her father with the farm as he retires. The positive portrayal of the daughter generated a strong ANA Gender Equality Measure (GEM®) 15% over norm, which helped drive a 7% increase in Reputation and an 8% increase in Purchase.
Pepsi – # 2 – The Choice
Pepsi Zero Sugar nails this one, ranking 1st in Reputation, 2nd in ABX Index, 4th in Any Action, and 6th in Messaging. Turning the unmistakable Coca-Cola polar bears against their own brand echoed the days of the Pepsi Challenge. The spot is so clean, clear and sweet, it’s impossible to miss the point. Sensational use of animation, emotion, and humor.
Bottom Five
Before looking at the bottom two, it’s important to note that the AI and technology ads scored lowest as a category – especially among females. In addition, AI-focused ads received a lot of negative social media attention as well as criticism throughout the industry. Here are some reasons why paying attention to the KPIs that Count matters even in this type of esoteric creative.
Coinbase – Everybody Coinbase
In Adweek’s roundup of the best Super Bowl 60 (2026) ads, critics praised Coinbase for staging “the world’s biggest singalong about crypto,” in a karaoke-style singalong to the Backstreet Boys’ “Everybody.” And added, “Props to the brand for continuing that creative streak.”
While Coinbase’s singalong execution earned creative praise for the stunt, the ad ranked 69th of 69 in the KPIs that Count. Viewers were unsure of the branding; did not perceive a clear benefit; did not have an elevated perception of the brand; and did not react to a clear call-to-action. There must be a way to be super creative and hit those KPIs too.
Ai.com – Ai Changes Everything
This ai.com spot demonstrated the power of urgency and intrigue — enough to reportedly crash its website on game night. However, performance metrics reveal a different commercial picture.
For all the KPIs that count, this ad ranked last or almost last for every one of them. Captivating attention without clarifying value may generate traffic, but attention alone does not equal brand impact.
Bad Bunny and Inclusive Advertising
This year’s Half-Time Show celebrating Hispanic culture received high ratings, with many viewers rating it as excellent or very good, more in line with the success of the 2022 performance by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. While the media buzzed over Bad Bunny’s lyrics and dance moves—stirring some controversy—our interviews with more than 1,500 consumers confirmed the Hispanic-focused show was clearly a standout moment.
We expected advertisers to seize the moment with plenty of culturally-inclusive Super Bowl ads. Most ads certainly included people of Color: 40 with African Americans, 15 with Asians and 5 with Hispanics. But only one advertiser, Toyota, went beyond casting and really leaned into cultural inclusion with the highly effective ad featured below:
Toyota – Where Dreams Begin
This Toyota ad ranked 26th and scored very high for Cultural Inclusion with its beautiful focus on a three-generation family. A young Asian father has bought a new Toyota and invites his little boy for a ride. They walk hand-in-hand to the car and dad fastens his son safely into the back seat. Big smiles. Then, they drive to grandpa’s house and add him to the ride. Warmth and happiness at being together for a special family event like riding in a new car is a perfect fit with Asian culture.
Written by: Angela Jeffrey, VP Brand Management, ABX
For more information about this Report, the ABX Sports Impact Index™ or the full Super Bowl rankings: CONTACT US HERE
About ABX Advertising Benchmark Index
ABX is the global leader in ad performance benchmarking, evaluating 500,000+ ads acrosscategories, audiences, and media environments. The ABX Index™ and ABX Sports Impact Index™ identify the KPIs that most strongly correlate with sales lift and brand growth.