Artificial intelligence took control of the stage. It did not just appear at Super Bowl LX.
From the first predominantly AI-generated national commercial to pointed jabs between rival AI labs, this year’s Super Bowl marked the clearest signal yet that artificial intelligence has crossed into mainstream culture as a creator, a product, and a battleground for power.
For decades, Super Bowl ads have been the ultimate test of creative ambition. Budgets run into the millions. Human talent, celebrity faces, and cinematic storytelling have defined the night. This year, one of the most talked-about commercials replaced much of that machinery with trained models, synthetic animation, and machine learning pipelines.
Vodka brand Svedka made history by airing what it described as the first predominantly AI-generated Super Bowl ad. The 30-second spot featured its long-standing robotic mascot, Fembot, alongside a new character called Brobot, both animated largely through AI systems trained specifically for the campaign. According to reporting by The Wall Street Journal, it took roughly four months to train the models to replicate facial expressions, body movement, and the distinctive look of the brand’s characters.
Svedka partnered with Silverside AI, a creative studio already known for controversial AI-driven advertising projects. While the company stressed that humans remained involved in storytelling and final approvals, the reliance on AI for animation and production was far deeper than anything previously seen on Super Bowl television.
The reaction was immediate and divided. Supporters framed it as a breakthrough moment – proof that AI tools are ready for high-stakes, mass-market creative work. Critics saw it as an unsettling preview of a future where traditional animators, designers, and production crews are sidelined by cheaper, faster algorithms. When a 30-second slot costs more than $7 million, choosing AI over conventional production becomes a strategic statement.
But the most explosive moment of the night did not blast from a bottle of vodka. It came from an AI company openly challenging another.
Anthropic, the startup behind the Claude chatbot, used its Super Bowl ad to draw a clear line in the sand. The message was blunt: “Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude.” The implication was unmistakable – a direct shot at OpenAI, which has publicly discussed plans to introduce advertising into ChatGPT.
The ad sparked an unusually public response. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called the claim “clearly dishonest” on social media, igniting a rapid-fire exchange that spilled across tech circles online. What might once have been a quiet investor rivalry played out instead during the most-watched television event in the United States.
The moment underscored how competitive – and personal – the AI race has become. These companies are no longer fighting only for enterprise contracts or developer mindshare. They are fighting for public trust, cultural relevance, and long-term legitimacy.
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While Anthropic leaned into confrontation, other tech giants used the Super Bowl to normalize AI as a consumer product.
Meta returned to the spotlight with its Oakley-branded AI glasses, positioning them as tools for sports, adventure, and hands-free creativity. The commercial featured skydiving, mountain biking, and basketball, with users capturing footage and sharing it instantly through voice commands. After pushing Ray-Ban Meta glasses in last year’s Super Bowl, the company is clearly doubling down on wearable AI as its next hardware frontier.
Amazon took a more self-aware route. Its spot starring Chris Hemsworth played on popular fears of AI going too far, portraying Alexa+ as a smart assistant that may or may not be plotting against its owner. The exaggerated paranoia was played for laughs, but the timing was deliberate. Alexa+ had just exited early access and rolled out more broadly, and Amazon used humor to make a powerful point: AI anxiety is real, and the company knows it.
Amazon’s subsidiary Ring also featured AI prominently, showcasing a “Search Party” feature that uses image matching and community data to help reunite lost pets with owners. Unlike more abstract AI pitches, the ad focused on a simple emotional use case, positioning AI as quietly helpful rather than disruptive.
Google followed a similar path, highlighting its image-generation model by showing a mother and son redesigning their home with AI prompts. The ad emphasized creativity and accessibility, showing how AI can turn everyday ideas into visual reality – while subtly hinting at disruption in design and creative professions.
Even enterprise software brands found space on the field. Ramp, Rippling, Wix, and Squarespace all used humour and storytelling to frame AI as a productivity multiplier rather than a threat. In each case, the message was consistent: AI is no longer experimental. It is embedded in the tools people already use.
What made Super Bowl LX different from previous years was not the number of AI mentions, but the shift in tone. Last year, AI appeared cautiously, often as a futuristic add-on. This year, it was the foundation. Brands trusted AI enough to let it create, perform, and sell.
That confidence comes with consequences. The Svedka ad has already reignited debates about creative labour, authorship, and the economics of advertising. If AI can produce broadcast-ready commercials at scale, the ripple effects across creative industries could be profound.
At the same time, the night exposed how fragmented the AI narrative has become. Some companies promise restraint. Others promise acceleration. Some sell AI as invisible infrastructure. Others turn it into spectacle.
Though Super Bowl LX did not settle the debate about artificial intelligence, it made one thing clear: AI has moved out of the lab and into the culture. It is no longer something brands talk about. It is something they bet millions on, in front of the world.
Whether audiences embrace that future – or push back against it -will shape the next phase of the AI era. For now, one thing is undeniable. Artificial intelligence just had its biggest night.
