AI wins the Super Bowl! Top Super Bowl ads featuring AI
Bob Armstrong
15 February, 2024
This past Sunday's Super Bowl LVIII will go down as the most-watched TV program in US history.
According to Nielsen and Adobe Analytics, the game, which saw the Kansas City Chiefs score a back-to-back win, averaged 123.4 million viewers across television and streaming, a 7% increase over last year's smash ratings.
With Super Bowl adverts already a cultural phenomenon in and of themselves, this year's ads were particularly important and, poignantly, AI was featured in the best ones.
The Chiefs may have won the Super Bowl, but AI won the Advert Super Bowl!
Here are the top 5 AI adverts at this year's Super Bowl.
5. Verizon — Can’t B Broken
US telecoms Verizon featured Beyoncé in a spot promoting its high-capacity 5G network. In the clip, Beyoncé tries to 'break' Verizon's internet through various tactics, including launching her own AI body double, Beyoncé-I.
Sprout Social rated this spot #1 in generating buzz on game night; according to Forbes, Beyoncé gained 254,844 new followers on Instagram after it aired.
4. CrowdStrike — The Future
Cyber Security company CrowdStrike aired an ad inspired by the Old West and Star Wars. When creepy robots try to attack a town, a lone woman shuts them down fast. Her weapon? CrowdStrike AI-powered cybersecurity.
3. Despicable Me 4 — Minion Intelligence
Super Bowl also aired the teaser trailer for the upcoming Despicable Me 4 movie. Minions, who aren't exactly known for their intelligence, play around with AI image creators and generate images that, to them, are perfectly correct!
Cue AI hallucinations.
2. Google Pixel 8 — Javier in Frame
Number 2 is a beautiful ad from Google that showcases AI as an accessibility feature.
Google reveals the new AI Guided Frame feature for the Pixel 8 smartphone, which helps partially-sighted users take a photo on their smartphone using audio instructions. The commercial ends with a voice-over by musician Stevie Wonder.
1. Microsoft Copilot — Watch Me
The most poignant AI advert at the Super Bowl (and, perhaps, the most effective ad overall), was Microsoft's spot to promote its Windows AI assistant, Copilot.
According to Wedbush Securities Analyst, Dan Ives, "The Super Bowl is a unique time to change perceptions," where an effective ad can help Microsoft maintain its lead on the AI market.
At the moment, "Microsoft is in a Ferrari in the left lane going 100 miles an hour, while other competitors are in a minivan going 30 miles an hour," Ives said.
The clever ad plays off the idea that AI will replace artists and creatives, positioning Microsoft Copilot as an assistant (a co-pilot) rather than the main driver of such projects. It can generate images, code, quizzes, designs — but all to help people meet their goals rather than supplant them, rewriting what is possible in the digital age.
The message seems to be, With Copilot by your side, what will you accomplish?
Let's watch.
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