The winning spot, that features the League's work with youth organizations worldwide, received a HarrisX Ad Index score of 87.8 out of 100. "Somebody," created by 72andSunny ad agency, outperformed the average Super Bowl ad score of 68.8 by nearly 20 points.
LAY's "The Little Farmer," a story about a young potato farmer, came in second place overall and first among consumer product ads with a score of 86.7. It was followed by the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS) "No Reason to Hate" (85.1), Budweiser's "First Delivery" (84.5) and He Gets Us with its "What is Greatness?" ad (84.4) rounding out the top five.
In the HarrisX Ad Index study, more than 8,000 respondents were shown up to five randomly selected ads and asked to evaluate the spots individually across seven key advertising metrics. The metrics measured many facets of impact, from ad memorability and clarity, to the intended call-to-action unique to each ad. All 72 spots tested in the study were individually evaluated by at least 500 U.S. adults.
"The Super Bowl is more than a game – it's where sports, culture, and creativity come together every year," said HarrisX CEO Dritan Nesho. "This year's winning ads show that despite an American public that is tired of social and political issues permeating cultural moments, themes of unity and collaboration resonate with Americans. These ads provide a model for how advertisers can engage and speak about corporate social responsibility."
"Somebody" won in large part due to the ad's broad appeal across demographic groups and its particularly strong performance with parents, coming in first with both dads (97.0) and moms (95.0).
Women gave the highest marks to "The Little Farmer" (89.2) while Budweiser's "First Delivery" was the top ad among men (87.7). Pfizer's "Knock Out," a story about a young boxer beating cancer took the top spot among affluent Americans.
Here are the key Super Bowl 2025 Ad trends as per the HarrisX Ad Index:
Corporate and Social Responsibility Ads Dominate the Top 10
Six of the top eight performing ads centered around corporate and social responsibility (CSR) issues. These advertisers proved that even in a polarizing national environment, it is possible to engage in purpose-driven messaging—if the approach unites rather than divides.
The top five spots, including issue ads from the NFL, FCAS, and He Gets US, were closely followed by three other CSR spots. In sixth place with a score of 84.1 was Pfizer's "Knock Out" ad, while the NFL's second ad "FLAG 50" about the League's initiative to make girls flag football a varsity sport across all 50 states came in seventh place (84.0). In eighth place was "Your Attention, Please," a Novartis ad using humor to encourage Americans to get screened for breast cancer (82.1).
Everyday Heroes, not Celebrities, Win the Night
Whether it was LAY's little potato farmer, Pfizer's young boxer, a father calling parenthood his dream job (Google's "Dream Job," score of 81.2), or a 3-year-old running down the street (Dove's "These Legs," score of 77.3), real, human stories resonated with Americans.
"The best-performing ads didn't just entertain — they connected," concluded Nesho. "Super Bowl LIX has set a new precedent: authenticity wins, and brands that embrace this approach will continue to thrive. Whether through shared values, resilience, or humor, some advertisers showed that unity and connection resonate deeply with audiences."
On the other hand, some of the celebrity-studded ads struggled to connect. Just two of the 10 best-performing spots featured celebrities—meanwhile, seven of the 10 lowest-ranking ads had celebrities front and center.
A (Good) Joke or Two Can Do Wonders
Humor, when done right, once again proved to be a winning strategy with ads like "Your Attention, Please" by Novartis (82.1) or Hellmann's "When Sally Met Hellmann's" (78.7). The success of these spots reinforces the idea that even serious topics, such as breast cancer screening, can succeed with a lighthearted touch.
There's a Fine Line Between Clever and Confusing
Creativity resonates, but sometimes an ad can be slightly too clever, leaving viewers confused. Tubi's "Cowboy Head" and Meta's "Hey Meta, Who Eats Art?" ended up at the bottom of the HarrisX Ad Index ranking in part because more than 40% found the two ads confusing.
HarrisX Ad Index Study Methodology
HarrisX tested 72 Super Bowl ads in a nationally representative study with 8,149 American adults as part of its HarrisX Ad Index. Each ad was evaluated individually by approximately 500 respondents across seven metrics: ad believability, clarity, memorability, likelihood to share with friends, comparability with most ads respondents see on TV, ad impact on the advertiser's reputation, and ad-specific call to action. The composite score across the seven metrics is then indexed using proprietary HarrisX methodology that yields a score between 0 and 100.
About HarrisX
HarrisX is a leading public opinion research, data analytics, and strategy consulting company with offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Singapore. HarrisX conducts multi-method research in over 50 countries around the world on behalf of global leaders, Fortune 100 companies, public policy institutions, philanthropic organizations, media and NGOs. It was rated as the most accurate pollster in the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election by the Washington Post and American Research Group. HarrisX currently partners on public opinion polling with Harvard University (via the Harvard CAPS/Harris poll), The Hill Newspaper, Forbes Media, Deseret News and Variety. HarrisX is a proud member of Stagwell Inc. (STGW).
SOURCE HarrisX
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