Best Super Bowl Ads: What Social Listening Reveals About Impact

As Kansas City continues its February tradition of Super Bowl appearances (we’re based in KC, sorry), another annual tradition captures the nation's attention: the battle for advertising supremacy during television's most-watched event. While football teams compete on the field, brands wage their own high-stakes contest for cultural relevance, with each 30-second spot now commanding over $7 million.

But which ads truly justify their astronomical price tags? Using Infegy Starscape's sophisticated social listening API, we've analyzed 15 years of Super Bowl advertising data to uncover surprising insights about what drives commercial success in this unique advertising arena.

The Shifting Landscape of Super Bowl Advertising

Our analysis reveals a fascinating trend: the cultural impact of Super Bowl commercials has actually diminished over time, despite rising costs. The data shows that ads from 2010-2011 achieved significantly higher engagement and emotional resonance than their modern counterparts, even when normalized for cost and social media volume.

This counterintuitive finding points to a broader shift in media consumption. While the Super Bowl remains a premier advertising showcase, today's fragmented media landscape makes it increasingly challenging for brands to capture the unified cultural moment that was more achievable a decade ago.

Analyzing the Most Impactful Ads: Data Methodology

^{Figure 1: Histogram showing the number of commercials analyzed per year (2010–2024); Source: Filestage.io.}

Normalization by Cost

Super Bowl ads are expensive. In 2024, a 30-second spot cost over $7 million! To measure ROI, we normalized ad performance metrics by cost, helping us assess whether each ad delivered on its investment.

^{Figure 2: Line chart showing the rising cost of 30-second Super Bowl ads (2010–2024); Source: Statista.}

Query Explanation

We focused on social media activity during the 7-day window following the Super Bowl—when the impact of ads is most immediate. Metrics included:

• Post Volume: Captures the overall buzz, giving a sense of how much attention an ad received.
• Positive Sentiment: Measures whether the reaction was good or bad.
• Emotional Resonance: This goes beyond positive sentiment to analyze emotions like anticipation, trust, and love.

^{Figure 3: Sample Query for E*TRADE Commercial.}

^{Figure 4: Ranking Methodology for Determining the Most Impactful Super Bowl Ads}

When these metrics were combined with cost normalization, three campaigns emerged as the most impactful Super Bowl advertisements of the past 15 years:

^{Figure 5: Best Super Bowl Commercials (As Per Our Ranking Methodology) (2010 through 2024)}

You'll note that a high percentage of high performing campaigns happened much earlier within our time frame for analysis. This suggests that the Super Bowl had greater cultural weight a decade ago, before the fragmentation of audiences across multiple platforms.

Figure 13: Average Rank of Commercial By Year (Lower Means That Year’s Commercials Performed Better)

Let's now get into the highest performing commercials!

1. Chrysler's "Born of Fire" (2011)

This cinematic tribute to Detroit, featuring Eminem and the Detroit Gospel Choir, transcended typical advertising to become a cultural touchstone. Our analysis shows particularly strong emotional resonance scores, with peaks in both "pride" and "hope" sentiment markers. The ad's impact was especially pronounced in the Detroit region, where it catalyzed a 312% increase in positive brand sentiment during the measurement window.

^{Figure 6: Top Topics pertaining to Eminem’s Chrysler Commercial (February 6, 2011 through February 13, 2011); Infegy Social Dataset.}

^{Figure 7: Top Emotions pertaining to Eminem’s Chrysler Commercial (February 6, 2011 through February 13, 2011); Infegy Social Dataset.}

^{Figure 8: Geographic Heatmap of Eminem’s Chrysler Commercial (February 6, 2011 through February 13, 2011); Infegy Social Dataset.}

2. Volkswagen's "The Force" (2011)

Volkswagen's Star Wars-themed advertisement succeeded by combining universal emotional appeal with cultural nostalgia. The data shows exceptionally high "joy" and "amusement" sentiment scores, coupled with strong cross-generational engagement metrics. The ad's success was amplified by strategic pre-release timing, creating anticipation that translated into sustained post-game conversation.

^{Figure 9: Top Topics about VW’s “The Force” Commercial (February 6, 2011 through February 13, 2011); Infegy Social Dataset.}

^{Figure 10: Top Hashtags pertaining to VW’s “The Force” Commercial (February 6, 2011 through February 13, 2011); Infegy Social Dataset.}

^{Figure 11: Top Entities Pertaining to VW’s “The Force” Commercial (February 6, 2011 through February 13, 2011); Infegy Social Dataset.}

3. E*TRADE's "Baby" (2010)

E*TRADE's talking baby campaign demonstrates the power of relatable humor combined with clear messaging. The advertisement's success metrics are particularly strong in making complex finance seem more straightforward to new investors and younger audiences, with high scores for both "trust" and "accessibility" in sentiment analysis.

^{Figure 12: Top Topics Of E*Trade’s “Baby” Commercial (February 7, 2010 through February 14, 2010); Infegy Social Dataset.}

Looking Ahead: Super Bowl 2025 and Beyond

For marketing strategists planning future Super Bowl campaigns, our data suggests several key recommendations:

1. Prioritize emotional resonance over technical sophistication
2. Consider the extended lifecycle of the campaign beyond game day
3. Leverage real-time social listening tools to measure and adjust campaign performance
4. Focus on creating authentic connections rather than chasing viral moments

The Super Bowl remains advertising's biggest stage, but success in this arena requires a sophisticated understanding of how cultural impact is achieved in today's fragmented media landscape. By combining creative excellence with data-driven insights, brands can maximize their return on this significant investment and create lasting connections with their audiences.

Our analysis demonstrates that while the path to Super Bowl advertising success has evolved, the fundamental goal remains unchanged: creating meaningful moments that resonate beyond the game itself. As we look toward future Super Bowls, the brands that best understand and adapt to these shifting dynamics will be the ones that truly score with audiences.

Key Insights for Marketing Strategists

1. Emotional Storytelling Drives ROI

Analysis shows that advertisements triggering strong emotional responses—particularly joy, trust, and love—consistently outperform those relying on spectacle or celebrity appearances alone. This holds true even when controlling for production budget and media spend.

2. Cultural Relevance Requires Nuance

While Super Bowl ads once relied on broad cultural touchstones, today's successful campaigns must navigate a more complex landscape. The most effective recent ads acknowledge cultural fragmentation while finding universal emotional threads that connect diverse audiences.