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Super Bowl 60, Ads That Stuck

• Campfire Consulting

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What actually sticks the morning after the biggest media night of the year? We gathered the Campfire team to break down Super Bowl 60 through a marketer’s lens. The ads, the halftime energy, and the strange alchemy that turns a 30-second spot into a real cultural moment.

Instead of tallying celebrity cameos, we dig into why some ideas pulled people off the couch and into the experience, while others faded the second the game came back on. From Coinbase’s polarizing karaoke moment that engineered participation, to the growing use of AI, de-aging, and digital resurrection that left many viewers uneasy, we explore where innovation worked and where it missed the human mark.

We also spotlight ideas built for utility and momentum. Liquid I.V.’s bathroom blitz, Ring’s lost-dog rescue, and brands that extended beyond the broadcast with puzzles, takeovers, and lead-up campaigns that turned Sunday night attention into Monday conversation. The halftime show sparked its own debate, reminding us that when millions are watching with divided attention, clarity beats complexity.

The takeaway is simple. Whether you’re planning national or local, B2C or B2B, the brands that win are the ones that build for participation, design ideas that travel, and respect the medium they’re showing up in. Sometimes the message matters less than how people experience it together.

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SPEAKER_01:

Welcome to Fireside, a responsibly different podcast where we spark candid conversations about media investments and the strategies shaping the way we connect.

SPEAKER_04:

Welcome back to the Fireside Podcast. Today we're keeping things close to home and gathering the Campfire team to talk about our favorite moments from Super Bowl 60. Not just the plays in the halftime show, but the moments that stuck with us the next day and reminded us why this game still matters in culture. I'm joined by Ben Marine, Campfire's Director of Impact, David Gogell, our head of strategy, Kelly Gatsby, client growth director, and Aidan Clark, our senior account strategist. And I'm Chris Marine, founder and CEO of Campfire. We're sharing what caught our attention, what worked, and what surprised us, and why certain moments hit harder than others. No hot takes for the sake of hot takes, just a good conversation around a shared cultural moment. Let's get into it. Campfire team, super fun to be here the day after the Super Bowl. I know we're all watching. What are what was everyone's favorite moment?

SPEAKER_03:

I was I told this to David earlier, but it's like watching the 2008 like Colts, Indianapolis Colts, Peyton Manning's Super Bowl uh run with the greatest defense of all time, greatest pass rushers rushers of all time. Seattle's did pretty good job on defense, but otherwise was extremely boring in terms of like actual scoring. The kicker was the MVP with four kicks, you know. Just very exciting stuff.

SPEAKER_04:

So let's see how the way who was everyone rooting for? Was everyone team pats here? The only one tells you you're usually Bills, but you know, who do you go for when the Bills aren't?

SPEAKER_00:

I was just going Seattle just because West Coast, um, being from California, but I was the party that I went to, everyone was rooting for the Patriots. So I felt really bad for them because that game was rough.

SPEAKER_04:

David, how'd you do? I knew you were you were right here.

SPEAKER_02:

I hung in there. Look, I we don't need to this we don't need to turn this into a football podcast. I hung in there. It's all right. It's all right.

SPEAKER_04:

All right. On that note, David, what was your what was your favorite ad and why? Ad and why.

SPEAKER_02:

I I'm I think well, I think I think the best ad was the Coinbase ad, for sure. And I think that's like I think like people are saying that, but it's uh that was like a perfect Super Bowl ad. Like it's Super Bowl's a collective experience. People it came in part of the game where like everybody had been drinking just enough where people were singing along. I I think like in every household, like people were people were like collectively like singing. Like I think that's a pretty great ad. I think it also um speaks to what like makes Super Bowl ads fun. And it sounds like there's some cool, interesting like brand extensions that are doing off of it. I think they're also like doing like a out-of-home takeover in Times Square and that some other thing. So I I think that was probably my I think that was the best ad. I don't know if that was my favorite ad, but I think that was the best ad.

SPEAKER_01:

Can we, for folks who maybe didn't see it, just describe what it was to loop folks in, like my full. Yeah, it was just karaoke.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, yeah, backstreet boys.

SPEAKER_00:

I was gonna say we could do it right now.

SPEAKER_02:

So, so uh so they it so Coinbase did like Backstreet Boys, like everybody, but they used the entire spot to do the first verse of the song. Um, and so one, like everybody's singing, two, it gets to like the point that like Coinbase is for everybody. Um, but it's like a very fun, I think this Super Bowl, I mean now I'm gonna like go on this long diatribe. Chris asked the very direct question, but like people like a lot of the ads were trying to sell stuff in like I would felt like a maybe like more aggressive way than typically is done in the Super Bowl. And I felt like that ad was what makes Super Bowl ads fun, which is like this idea that this shouldn't be like how you roll out your brand spot that you're gonna run for the next quarter. It's like how do you capitalize on this collective experience? And that ad did that in a really fun way that they're not gonna run this 60 second spot for the next eight weeks. This was like a cultural moment kind of thing.

SPEAKER_03:

So I was like, I thought kind of thought the biggest losers were the Backstreet Boys. There was like five Backstreet Boys ads, and like how bad does it have to be to like be relegated from like biggest boy band in the world to like now I'm in seven different T-Mobile ads in the same like 45 second window, you know? I mean, they were just you know throwing the Backstreet Boys into every commercial. Coinbase was my least favorite.

SPEAKER_02:

I'm yeah, I think that is like my that's probably my hot take is that I think that I think that was like the I think that was the best one.

SPEAKER_04:

So you set the scene. I mean, and it's probably around who you were watching with. You know, I was I was watching with my folks, I was watching with my kids, and we were all actually, and I'm not a football guy, we were actually watching, like watching football, which was big for me. And so I was like tuned in, locked into this ad break. And it took us like the first few seconds, we're like, what is going on right now? Like that's what we were all kind of sit back, like, are they?

SPEAKER_02:

I think that's what the countdown was for. So that there was like that countdown, but everybody kind of got set. They gave everybody time to like pick up on what was going on. And you have to like it's like most people are like in groups watching this thing. I don't know. I thought it was fair. I thought that was like a very bold choice that I think was fun.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, I I think it was the best like Super Bowl ad. I don't know if it was the best like Coinbase ad, you know, like it was the best, like in the thematic placement of like being in the Super Bowl, to your point, like you know, being a community type of event, like sitting down, like potluck style, you know, have everyone there like jump in on the karaoke. But I like I I feel like there are a lot of ads that are in the Super Bowl that are just like so contextually confusing to me. Like there was the um there's the like religious ad where it it they like turned around in the desert and it was like something it was like something like that. I I honestly don't even really remember it super well. But a lot of them, I'm just like, what does this have to do with like the brand identity? I get the like Access for Everyone thing that you're mentioning with like the the song choice. I think that makes sense, but like did not cross my mind in the moment. Like probably something I would need to like sit and and like probably rewatch it to actually get. But yeah, I like I don't know, it was very visually interesting and a different conceptual thing than everyone else was going for.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, so last point on that would go around, but like I think that's the point is that they weren't they didn't have they it wasn't like a product, like there were so many tech product spots last night. And the fact that they used their space to just like let people have fun, I think is what Super Bowl ads really should be about. And I think they did it in a um in a great way, in a way that allows them to build on it. Like I said, with I think they're doing like a jumboton takeover, they're doing the Times Square, they're gonna they'll do more with it. I don't know if they'll do the same song or different songs, but that's a fun idea and I think risky.

SPEAKER_00:

I I loved it because when I came on the group I was with, we were all singing karaoke and got like super into it. But then I I felt like at the end they just slapped the Coinbase logo at like the end, and I was like, Okay, like really fun ad. I loved it. I also love karaoke, but I was like, What what does this have to do with Coinbase? So that was my only thought. I was just like, it seems pretty random.

SPEAKER_04:

The trained skeptic in me, my thought was during that who is this asking me to because once I figured it out, like, oh, this is karaoke. I was like, who's asking me to sing along with them? You know, like I wanted to know. I'm like a trained skeptic, so that's my thing. Yeah, who's asking me to do this? I'm not gonna do something. I think that was just a fun thing.

SPEAKER_02:

I think that was like a everybody was like, this is a boring game, nothing's going on. I think that was like a fun, fun moment, but I'll just keep going. So let's go.

SPEAKER_04:

I enjoyed Amazon Alexa's the Will Will AI Kill Us. I thought that was great. And I thought that was timely with all like the AI chatter. I thought that was hilarious. I enjoyed that a lot.

SPEAKER_00:

I thought there was a lot of AI chatter. I mean, it's obviously relevant, but it's like it got to a point where I was like, okay, this is kind of crazy. Like, what happened to like the Super Bowl ads where like, I don't know, you're selling products, like you can't even buy half of the things that I feel like they were showing. And it just it I miss the old Super Bowl ads.

SPEAKER_02:

So Chris, I hated that ad, but I but it but it I think you know um iSpot does like has their proprietary ranking favorability thing. I think that one ranked really high. Like I think I think it broad brush, people like that one. I I hated it. I thought it was so bad.

SPEAKER_04:

That and the Xfinity, the Jurassic Park. That was great.

SPEAKER_02:

That was so good.

SPEAKER_04:

I enjoyed the Jurassic Park stuff. So those were my two faves. That was a great ad.

SPEAKER_00:

That was great. I also built Liquid IV.

SPEAKER_04:

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

I thought that one was funny. It was kind of random at first with all the toilets. I was like, what is happening? But I think also just like, I don't know, it made sense with the Super Bowl. Everyone's super dehydrated after that day. Like it kind of made sense. But that was funny. I I honestly didn't really like a lot of the ads, which is really sad because that's like my favorite part of the Super Bowl because the Bills never make it. So I literally watch it for the ads and I just like was not that impressed this year.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, I was in a room full of people just commenting on how much AI usage there was in the ads and how much they hated it, and like that it made the entire viewing experience worse, which was surprising to me because like some of them were a lot more like subtle, like the Jurassic Park one, like having the reverse aging thing. But a lot of people were like not happy about the post-humus usage of like actors in some of the ads. Um and like it just kind of like, you know, sleeping dogs alive for lack of a better term, but like, you know, we can come up with better ideas than like reusing things that we've kind of beaten to death. I mean, like what Jurassic Park version are they on right now? Um, it's like a great conceptual ad, but I think it's a good one. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

It's it's it's a good concept for an ad, though.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, no, it's a great concept for an ad, but it's just like they I was surprised at how like adamant people were that like they didn't want to see that as like a part of the viewing experience. And that's kind of also why I like the Volvo ad or the Volkswagen ad the drivers wanted, because it was like kind of bringing back an old IP, but like not a like creative or like movie one that they were just kind of tapping into the celebrity talent. It was like reinventing one of their old taglines and like was kind of all you know organic for lack of a better term. But um, yeah, it was that. And then like some of the ones again just kind of confused me. Like the like some of them were, I don't know. I've like, I think to Kelly's point, like they're I like Super Bowl ads where they are like actively trying to sell consume a product versus like I don't need to see a Salesforce, like I don't know if a a business decision maker is gonna have like a you know a enterprise level shift in their database management system because they saw like a 30-second spot at the Super Bowl.

SPEAKER_02:

You know, you're talking about the Mr. Beast Salesforce one because that's another one. Like, I'm not I don't think that was a great ad, but that like that I think is very, very smart. I think they had like whatever, close to 100 million hits on that site by this morning. He was on Good Morning America talking uh about it. Like to that's I think whether or not it's like Coinbase or Mr. Beast, like I think there are good cinematic ads, which maybe I can share those if we have time when we after everybody goes around. But like when you think about Coinbase and Mr. Beast, thinking about they they didn't make ads, they created moments that people are talking about. I feel like that's the fun of Super Bowl advertising. Like Mr. Beast is like already like back and forth with people about that. And then it sounds like if people don't solve it, they're gonna turn on the Salesforce Slack bot and start to give people like hints. I think that's very, very smart. I think it goes beyond like a well-produced 60 second spot.

SPEAKER_03:

You know what I mean? Yeah, I think it drives a lot of like engagement and and really like again a smart conceptual superwide, but I think they're doing it for the wrong product. Like, I just don't know. To me, that doesn't push and that doesn't like inform or support or like say anything really about like the solution that they're trying to put forward. And again, maybe it's just meant to be like they've just bought into the top of funnel thing and like want people to be talking about it, and that's really what they're going for is that like true brand building moment, like even with the Coinbase thing. But um, yeah, I mean it's just you know, it it doesn't feel like they're selling like a consumer product to the viewers of the Super Bowl. It feels like they're building an experience around it and then just like running the ad. Um so yeah, I mean I guess it's like what what is their what is their goal coming out of this? It would be nice to like, you know, get their brief and see what see what they came up with in response to that. Yeah, you know, again, like what is what is their is their success metric, the number of puzzles solved with the uh with the slack bot or I think I think it's I think it's I think it's attention.

SPEAKER_02:

I think it's attention. But I I want to give space for Ben, but we'll we'll we'll come back. We'll come back around.

SPEAKER_04:

I was gonna say it would be interesting, like speaking of like what that brief would be, uh not just the brief in regards to like what the creative message is, but around what we do, which is around the distribution of that and make sure that it reaches people. Ben, you're not the the typical media consumer. What were you doing during the game last night?

SPEAKER_01:

I mean, what I was actually doing during the game was really enjoying an empty house. And I listened to an audiobook and did a puzzle. So you didn't have it on at all. I didn't have it on at all. That being said, I have gone back and watched clips. Like, I'm like, okay, give me like the ads highlight reel. Basically, like I've been like watching the ads highlight reels, and I like you know, have listened to some like analysis of the half game show and or halftime show and all the things. So that being said, um I I don't actually know if it aired, but and this might be a hot take, but speaking of AI, I did really enjoy the Pepsi ad.

SPEAKER_04:

It did run, I thought of you, because you actually told me about it before.

SPEAKER_01:

Did it run?

SPEAKER_04:

It did run.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, it did run. Okay. Yeah. I okay, so I liked that because I mean, again, I'm always thinking about like the message behind things, and it felt like one, I thought it was funny, right? Like we have this classic, like Coke character that's like so confident that like he can pick out his favorite product and then is wrong. But then the rest of it, the spot is like about him coming to terms with like maybe I like this other thing better. And like, what does that mean? Right? Like, they show him in the therapist's office and they sh and then his buddies are like, it's okay, buddy, like you can drink Pepsi, right? Like it's this whole, and so I think it's this really cool journey of like, it's hard, but like we can change our minds, you know?

SPEAKER_04:

And I And so outside of you not watching Super Bowl, it brings up an interesting point because someone that I'm friends with um on LinkedIn, who is in our industry, put up a post during the game last night, and he was asking folks, he's like, is it wrong of me to be uh during the game watching the ads outside of watching the game? And like, what's your take on that? Which Ben isn't alone in this. Like, I I always wonder how important that$8 million investment is, and like with how fragmented people's attention actually is are, even if they're watching, mingling, doing other things. And I don't know, the the a lot of the ads seem a little bit cookie cutter in the sense that celebrity after celebrity after celebrity after celebrity. It's like, how valuable is that investment to like actually thinking about reaching the 100 million plus people that are watching at one given point?

SPEAKER_02:

I think that's the point. That's so that's what I know, that's what I was trying to say earlier about like, I don't think it's about making a great ad. It's about tapping into that cultural moment. And that's the whole thing is that nobody's going to remember what product Sabrina Carpenter's ad was for. They're gonna, it's about like, I don't like again, everybody knows me. Like, I wasn't, it's not like I'm standing on a table singing song, but like a lot of people probably had a lot of fun singing that song. A lot of people are probably having a lot of fun on a slow Monday trying to solve puzzles. I think that's what it's about. It's not, that's my that's I think the point, Chris. It's that it's not about like a media investment the way that you would typically think about a media plan. It's like you have this unique moment to tap into a cultural conversation. Are you gonna use it and play it safe and create like a brand spot for 30 seconds? Or are you gonna do something crazy like take that entire investment and have a blue screen with a karaoke song going on? I think that's what I'm trying to say. It's like that's the difference. That is the brief that is the brief.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, it's interesting too, because you know, so like and I and I wasn't like boycotting the Super Bowl. That's not like that's not what I was doing. It was just I rarely ever get like a quiet moment. So I took it. Um but uh I did go back and watch afterwards, right? Because it is a cultural moment and because I do want to participate in it, but it's interesting. So the book I was actually listening to was Simon Sinek's Start With Why. And one of the things he talks about in that book was tying about how it's important to not just title cultural moment, but have it be memorable for the brand too, right? Like he talked about how Oprah, I can't remember what year it was, but when she gave away all those cars to everyone in the audience, right? Everyone remembers there, if there's still memes about it. Like you get a car and you get, right? Like that's still very much like even if you don't remember at the time, like you're aware of that meme, like you're aware of that thought, but nobody knows that it was a pond that it was Pontiac that was giving away the cars. You know what I mean? Like there's no, it doesn't make you think about I was like, oh shoot, like as he was saying it, I was like, oh my gosh, yeah, I didn't even know, like I never even thought about what brand it was that was giving away the cars. Like you just think of it as like part of Oprah's brand as somebody who's generous and giving, and it felt like a testament to her generosity when really it was Pontiac spent eight million dollars giving away cars, but that was not part of the story at all and not memorable, right? So it's interesting when we have these moments like the Super Bowl, like how important is it that it's not just this, like not just participating in the moment, but also meaningful and part of the brand story as well.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. I mean, I I think like going back to the Coinbase thing, even like I think one of the benefits for them, if you're looking at it from a long-term brand building standpoint, is like you have every generation of persons sitting in front of their TV watching that. And so, like, while you might not be, you know, convincing the 45-year-old person who is not currently invested in cryptocurrencies to leverage your platform, you're you're in front of their you know, 10-year-old kid as well, which like is probably not a great way to look at it, but like is a reality of the total exposure of these ads, is like you are hitting basically every age demographic and over a third of you know Americans at any given time. So it is probably the most powerful like awareness building single moment like in the in the country as it relates to those. Like I've run multiple like March Madness campaigns, for example, and those are very audience specific because like not everyone's watching every game, right? So there is that awareness component, but you also need to have a measurable outcome. I feel like this is one of the things you can just like throw a shit ton of money at and say, okay, like at least everyone saw it. And if we did a fun job and if it was memorable, like we we won some favor with the, you know, like US population, basically, um, and like generated some buzz around it. It does just like put them top of mind in a way that most other ad placements can't or don't. But I also do think there's like some pretty significant downsides, like again, with my friends who hated on the AI stuff, like they were, you know, one person literally said, like, I can't wait for another AI ad that's gonna tell me how to live my life. And that was like right after the I forget what what it was called, not the open AI one, but the other one that was pretty poorly received. Um, but like it it can be a double-edged sword. You can either, you know, stab your brand by you know getting a really negative connotation with it if you do a bad job contextualizing it, or like to David's point, make it fun, make it something that's like an experiential-based thing, and you at least build some positive goodwill, if not like an outcome for your business.

SPEAKER_04:

So I think that's what Rocket Mortgage did really interestingly, is they made it an experiential piece to it. I know leading up to it, they were sharing that like there's a house that they're giving away. So, like for the week or two leading up, they were like in watch during the Super Bowl. They had a, I think they had a nice message too. Um, but they it was more of like this experiential kind of buildup to uh their ad, which raises a question, especially on what you mentioned, Aiden, around the memorability. When it comes to regional brands that just end up, I shouldn't say just invest into their local media to be in Super Bowl and their local breaks, and it's their everyday spot. You think of value?

SPEAKER_03:

I mean it depends on what's the same.

SPEAKER_04:

It's not playing on memorability, and there are plenty of there are quite a few advertisers who just stick their standard uh their standard brand spot in there.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, I think like the the problem is just like the comparatives as well. You know, like people are watching the Super Bowl to basically figure out which one they like the best. And outside of the top three, you're probably not gonna remember the vast majority of the details on the rest of them. So if you are running a standard brand spot in one of those locations and you're spending a significant premium to do so, then it's probably not just not worth it from a I mean, it's worth it from a pure impression standpoint, but not from like a memorability or you know, viewability standpoint, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_02:

And I so just in really quick, I think the we also have to remember, I mean, all of us on this like kind of chat are different ages, but we also are none of us are like like of the youngest generation. Like my my daughter, who's 10, had the only ad she had heard about before the Super Bowl was the Sabrina Carpenter Pringles. She knew it was about Pringles. She knew that like the concept of it. Her friend, they were all talking about it, and her and her friends were upstairs in her room. They Kept on coming down and being like, oh, has the Sabrina Carpenter ad? Come on. Like again, so I think it's this idea of like even how we're thinking about it is different than probably these brands understand that there's, you know what I mean? There's there's levels to what they're trying to do that has less about like a bunch of 30 and 40 year olds thinking an ad is cool and more of like my 10-year-old has already heard about this ad, thinks it's amazing, understands how it ties back to Sabrina Carpenter's music, and is asking her dad when the ad is on it if she missed it. And that's something that's like also not, you know, accountable.

SPEAKER_04:

And hey, that one while my mom was knitting, my boomer mom, that one actually got a laugh. She enjoyed that one.

SPEAKER_00:

Um what did you guys think of the ring ad?

SPEAKER_04:

The dog one? The law no.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, the lost dog one was the rock. Oh no, they both had a dog.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, so the lost dog one. I thought it was like I like I'm aware of that feature. We have a ring. I think it's super creepy. I think I have to go back and somebody should look at this. That was the number I think that was the number one most liked ad according to iSpot. I should I like somebody.

SPEAKER_04:

I don't think it was a great ad, but I was like, I have a ring and I didn't know about that feature. So I was like, oh, well, that's good to know.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, but I think that actually was like the most favorably ranked. I could somebody could go look at it, but I'm pretty sure like who doesn't love saving puppies, you know? That's but it's creepy. Like every camera is on. I mean, it's a creepy thing. It's a very creepy thing.

SPEAKER_04:

All right, as we wrap, we can't not talk about the halftime show, even though I know that's not like ad-related people's thoughts, feelings. I know I've watched it like five times now. I'm like, I thought it was incredible. All the different like little subtle Easter eggs dropped in there, just all like dripping in meaning was so good. And my boys, I'll add, like, my like, we won't get into politics here, but I thought it was funny that the our president's tweet was about, you know, it was inappropriate for kids watching. My kids, seven and five, thought the like the girls like shaking their butts, they were on the floor laughing so hard. Like they they, you know, they just thought it was good music, they were dancing, and they just thought them shaking their butts was the funniest thing. So, whatever that's worth.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh man, I I mean, I'm a huge Bad Bunny fan. I've been to multiple of his concerts. I do not speak Spanish. So every concert that I've been to, I don't know what he's saying, but I just am down for a vibe. And Bad Bunny puts out the vibes. So I absolutely loved the halftime show. I thought it was so fun. Um, I feel like, I mean, the people who got married, that was a real wedding, which was just like super special. And him giving his Grammy to his younger, you know, self. I just feel like there were a lot of like cultural moments in there that I felt like were super sweet. And then just the best, the best vibe, just dancing the whole time. It was so much fun. I absolutely loved it. David, what are your thoughts on it?

SPEAKER_02:

I I hate every halftime show. I think they're all really bad. I think it's just like it's a I think it's a terrible way to I think it's I think they're always are bad in my like like yeah, I think they're always bad, um, no matter what. I think that um I think it was hard. Um I think it was hard to follow. And interestingly enough, I was in a room with like a bunch of people that did speak finished. And also just I think it just comes down to like Kelly, like you're a fan. I think it's just like if you're a fan of his music, people were really into it. For a lot of people, that was the first time they were hearing that music and the way that it cut through, like you had to really try and pay attention to the story. So like I didn't I didn't love it. I but I I don't I think that it's I think I wouldn't I don't like I haven't liked a lot of the halftime shows lately. I think it's just overproduced and hard to follow. And so it's more about if you're there, I'm sure it's a great experience if you're there on TV. I think it's gotten so much that it's hard to follow the production of it, and I think it takes away from like the music, but I don't know, I'm probably not the right audience either.

SPEAKER_04:

Largest halftime audience ever, I think, was a record. 130 million plus peaked at the halftime. I think it was around 135 million.

SPEAKER_02:

I think a lot of people are, I mean, obviously, Aiden, I want to hear your I want to hear your your your take. I think people liked it. I think I'm in the minority. I think most people liked it.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah. No, I mean I'm I like Bad Bunny's music and like generally, you know, thought the show was was pretty good. I think um I always just think it's weird the amount of like cultural reaction associated with halftime shows, like generally. Like I I was in a the room with someone who was like starting to tear up and they're just like not Puerto Rican. It was I was just like, this is weird. Um, but yeah, I mean like and like I've seen a lot of LinkedIn posts and stuff about like people just being like, this is like the greatest thing that's ever happened, you know, since sliced bread. It was just like a really like it always just like is shocking to me the amount of like reactions that come out of it. Because like at the end of the day, it is a like concert with additional like cultural connotations, and it probably drew in a lot of you know Spanish speaking viewers to the Super Bowl, which it was probably the NFL's intention in terms of like having Bad Bunny do it. Um it was the same thing with like at the end of the day, it's to bring more people to go watch the Super Bowl, right? Um, and like there is the cultural component, but like I honestly thought the cultural component was like more muted in comparison to Kendrick Lamar's last year, and like maybe that was like due to potential retaliation or something against the NFL. I don't know. Um, but like it was just interesting to me because I had a conversation with a friend of mine when we were driving back to my apartment. He was like, I thought they were gonna say more about like what's been going on generally, um, which like there was definitely like a lot of kind of symbolism in it that was like hinted at that, um, but like a little less outspoken and I think like for a reason. So um I don't know. I I thought it was a really good show and it was very entertaining. Yeah, that was just like one of my I don't know, one of the things that I noticed about it. Um to David's point, like I think it's probably the worst format to watch a concert in in terms of like actually enjoying the music because they're like actively running around the entire time. Um like his music is just like very dance heavy and and like I'm sure like a lot of people who are in more party environments, I was sitting on the couch eating chicken wings, but uh were dancing around. So um, you know, again, like love is music, uh, but yeah, it was just like different than I had anticipated, I would say.

SPEAKER_00:

It's funny you say the the crying piece because I was actually just telling Chris this last week. I've been to a lot of his shows and I've cried at almost every one of his shows.

SPEAKER_03:

And I You don't understand what he's saying.

SPEAKER_00:

I don't know what he's saying, but like he just like is the definition of just like he like cat, I don't know, he just captive captivate captivates like you in this entire like I don't know. He was I had to ask the girls next to us, like, what is he saying? Everyone's crying, I'm crying, but I don't know what he's saying. And he ended up telling this story about how like don't stop believing in yourself. Like I, you know, talked about himself growing up in Puerto Rico, had nothing, and then he's like, and now I'm selling out Staple Center, and like don't stop, you know, believing in yourself, basically. And I'm just like sobbing. So I I feel your friend. I didn't cry yesterday, but I just felt like there was just a lot of like the world is heavy right now. And when he's like, you know, going it was a very positive message, yeah. Yeah, and like saying all the countries, I was just like, Oh, I love this. Like, this is just this is great.

SPEAKER_04:

Ben, I'm I'll be interested to hear what you say, but like I think what was powerful about it was that he didn't say it. Like the amount of symbolism from like having the crops there and kind of touching on like the slave labor that you know is a big part of Puerto Rico's current and past. Um, the electrical polls. There's a piece there about like how the electrical grid and how and people are reading into that a bunch of different ways. Like there was so much that wasn't said but was shown that I thought was really interesting and stuff I didn't pick up on until like some of it reading after, where people are like, Yep, this touches on that piece, this touches on that piece, this touches on um, you know, the people and and their cultural past was oh I thought it was powerful.

SPEAKER_02:

Ben, I want to hear your yeah, and I want to just follow up on that.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I mean, I I mean, I think what an incredible moment to have Bad Bunny be hosting the Super Bowl half to right, like you have this cultural moment that's arguably one of the biggest, has the most eyeballs in the US all year, right? I mean you guys would know better than I do, but I think that's probably true, right? Or close to it. Um and at a time when, you know, I I mean it's just the uh you know, we see it on the news every day without like getting folks down, but like you know, like it's a very challenging time right now for um immigrants, especially from Latin America, to be uh coming here and sort of have and also it's really interesting too uh you know, people talking about like I don't know, the I guess people opposed to the halftime show say, you know, talking about citizenship and other things. It's like, well, that funny is a citizen, and so many of the shows they reference are not US citizens, right? Like there, like there's just I think there's so much significance in having him be center stage in such a big cultural moment at a time when so many people are hurting, and having his message really be one of like love and and community. Like I just I just think you don't you don't need to speak Spanish to have that like resonate and feel powerful. You know, because he showed it. Like he hated it. He showed it.

SPEAKER_02:

All right, David, bring us home. No, I know because now I now it's now I have a weird take after that. I just like it's also like just for context of the conversation. I was in a room, so it sounds like unlike most of the people in this chat, I was in a room with mostly people who speak Spanish. For those who don't know, my wife is Puerto Rican. I was I was with another couple that are Filipino that were like in the room, and everybody was like struggling to follow it. Chris, you're saying like people reading afterwards and picking up on different things. I get I get that piece of it. And so I think there's the that I'm trying, I'm tabling that whole side of it and just saying of like as a Super Bowl halftime show, I feel like most in the actual experience of it, not watching it after reading about it, like the people I was in the room with who, again, like speak Spanish and like were there, we're like, oh hey, they're jumping around a lot, they're doing a lot. None of us know his music, so maybe that's part of it. None of us knew any of his music or had heard any of these songs. So I think that was like if we were just like, oh, there's so much going on. Part, you know what I mean? And it's this one opposite of like every year that gets bigger and there's more scenes, there's more stuff going on. Everything about the cultural moment and the conversation, I completely get that. In terms of like an actual show, though, unless you were really familiar with his music, I was like, Oh, I it was it was hard for me to like to follow that narrative story, Chris, that you're talking about, like in the in the moment. And that wasn't just me, that was like a room full of people that also like speak Spanish, and like my wife is Puerto Rican. You know what I mean? Yeah.

SPEAKER_04:

Well, the only thing more powerful than hate is love was the whole thing. Yeah, that's something I think like brought it all home. Well, team, that was fun. Next year, I hear the Super Bowl is heading to ESPN for the first time in ABC. So that will be uh a significant piece for next year's uh Super Bowl.

SPEAKER_02:

That's what I mean. Just a good no, but we can for Peacock. Yeah, it was a good, good, good weekend. And I think that they did a good job tying a lot of that together, too. So to end on a media agency, no. I mean, like I think that is they brought that together and did a lot of like cross promotion. I thought was really, really smart.

SPEAKER_04:

Yeah, and next year it will be on February 14th. So, you know, there you go. I wonder how that will impact people. Wonder who's gonna do the halftime show. Yeah. All right, team. That was fun. Yep.

SPEAKER_00:

So fun. Thanks, guys. See y'all.

unknown:

Bye.

SPEAKER_04:

And that's our take on Super Bowl 60. Big moments, big stages, and a reminder that when media, sport, and culture collide, people actually pay attention. If you enjoyed this conversation, share it with someone who loves marketing, media, sports, maybe less on sports, but culture or all of the above. These are the moments that shape how brands show up, how stories travel, and how audiences connect. Thanks for spending time around the campfire with us. We'll be back soon breaking down more moments that matter and what they mean for the way we plan, buy, and think about media. Until then, keep asking better questions and keep the conversation going.