THE BOT BOWL: AI ADS REFLECT A NEW ERA OF ADVERTISING
For decades, Super Bowl commercials represented the pinnacle of agency collaboration and human creativity. A 30 to 60-second slot during one of the most-watched events in television was the result of months of strategy, concepting, art direction, screenwriting, and production. From 2019 to 2026, the price for a Super Bowl commercial spot has nearly tripled, priced at about $8 million dollars. That’s roughly $266,666 dollars per second. (USA Today, 2026).
This Super Bowl LX, Artificial Intelligence was a hot topic of conversation. Not only did it help make the ads —it was the ad. Companies such as Anthropic and their AI chatbot, Claude aired not one, but two commercials during the game this year promoting their ad-free AI. Talk about irony! AI positions itself as not just a “tool,” but a brand. There is no longer the fated question of whether advertising is changing. Now it’s more of a guessing game to see how long the traditional creative way will have a seat at the table.
This feels like an episode of Traitors.
Even Svedka, a major player in the vodka industry, took an AI-centered approach for their spot this year, making history as the first ad created primarily through AI. In their Super Bowl LX spot, “Shake Your Bots Off,” two AI robots are seen dancing among humans to Rick James’ Superfreak. According to Svedka’s parent company, it took about four months to train AI to mimic human facial expressions and body movements.
Super Bowl commercials don’t just have a hefty price tag; they rely heavily on bold ideas and execution. These commercial spots have long been the stage for agencies to strut their stuff, often accompanied by outlandish ideas, scripts, and gasp-enducing celebrity cameos. Deciding to debut an AI-generated commercial during the Super Bowl? Talk about a bold move.
Some commercials were AI-generated — but there were also spots that advertised AI as its own brand. In the blink of an eye, AI software developed the same brand war as Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola!
Perhaps just as unsettling, Wix debuted their newest AI-powered platform, Harmony, which launched in January. Wix Harmony is presented to be as easy as “chatting with a friend,” streamlining UX/UI design and creative execution. From a blank page to a fully-fledged web page with logos, graphics, and SEO, AI can hypothetically wipe out anywhere from three to five agency roles.
Wix’s biggest competitor, Squarespace, also aired their own spot, “Unavailable,” featuring Emma Stone. The award-winning star goes through all five stages of grief in trying to gain access to a Squarespace domain, emmastone.com. Squarespace’s goal was to encourage people to “get their domain before they lost it,” in a dramatically creative production. Not only did this commercial have a storyline, but many viewers discovered that the very real, live domain revealed an “Easter egg” message from Emma Stone herself. You can watch the full video here.
There is something eeriely ironic about AI advertising itself, especially during one of the most heavily watched broadcasts. The technology used to replace copywriters, designers, and content strategists is now purchasing airtime once reserved for the very agencies it renders obsolete. Advertising is an industry that is built on storytelling, innovative ideas, and originality. When we lean into AI as more than a tool for our grammar-checks, we enter dangerous territory for allowing the industry to be reshaped.
The bright side? This isn’t the first time advertising has changed. Radio replaced print, television reshaped messaging, and social media consistently blurs the lines between brand and creator. AI is only different because it doesn’t just change where ads can live: only who makes them. Why outsource creativity when you can generate it in-house? Why collaborate when you can automate? The scary question lives: Is AI replacing human creativity in the advertising industry?
As someone who got their roots in advertising before the surface of Chat GPT, there was more weight to this question. More so, it started a fire under my own ass — am I going to find a job, or is AI going to replace the need for a copywriter entirely? It can work twice as fast as I can. But is it any good? The answer is no, more often than not. But for agencies without clients and brands without a budget, outsourcing AI for creative execution is a no-brainer.
Although the Super Bowl used to be proof that creativity got you further, this year suggested something entirely different: visibility now belongs to whoever can move the fastest. The presence of AI commercials during the game this year was not a gimmick, but instead a warning sign. This isn’t whether or not the industry will change. It’s already in motion.
So, is advertising dead? Not exactly. But it is being redefined as technology evolves. The question now isn’t if AI will take jobs from agencies; it’s which parts of creativity can’t be replicated. And most importantly, if the industry is willing to fight for them.
Sources:Forristal, L. (2026, February 8). From Svedka to Anthropic, brands make bold plays with AI in Super Bowl ads. TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/08/super-bowl-60-ai-ads-svedka-anthropic-brands-commercials/
Steinberg, B. (2026, February 8). How much does a Super Bowl commercial cost in 2026? USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/super-bowl/2026/02/08/how-much-does-super-bowl-commercial-cost-2026/88510663007/