Super Bowl Updates—See Hims, Novartis, Pepsi and Toyota’s Full Spots | Super Bowl Car Commercials, Brand Ads | CarStream247
You’re sitting on your couch, nachos in one hand, remote in the other, when a polar bear having an identity crisis on your TV screen makes you laugh so hard you almost drop your beer.
That’s the magic of Super Bowl commercials. Every year, brands spend millions of dollars for 30 seconds of your attention. And Super Bowl LX was no different. From Pepsi’s polar bear taste test crisis to Toyota’s nostalgic RAV4 ad featuring a grandfather and grandson, the 2026 Big Game delivered emotional storytelling, sharp humor, and a few genuine surprises.
Let me break down the biggest commercials you need to see—and why they actually matter beyond the game.
TL;DR
Super Bowl LX on February 8, 2026, brought a diverse lineup of commercials blending nostalgia, controversy, and star power. Toyota aired two 30-second spots: “Superhero Belt,” showing a grandfather and grandson bonding over a 1997 RAV4, and “Where Dreams Began,” featuring athletes Puka Nacua, Oksana Masters, and Bubba Wallace alongside their younger selves. Hims & Hers took a controversial “eat the rich” approach with “Rich People Live Longer,” featuring a Jeff Bezos lookalike and biohacker imagery, narrated by Common. Novartis delivered the game’s most talked-about healthcare ad, “Relax Your Tight End,” using NFL legends like Rob Gronkowski and Tony Gonzalez to promote a blood test for prostate cancer screening. Pepsi revived the Pepsi Challenge with a polar bear choosing Pepsi Zero Sugar over Coke Zero Sugar, directed by Taika Waititi, who also appeared as the bear’s therapist.
Toyota: A Legacy of Love and Dreams
Let me start with Toyota’s ads, because they took a noticeably different approach from the flashy, celebrity-packed commercials that dominated the broadcast.
Toyota returned to the Super Bowl with two 30-second spots: “Superhero Belt” and “Where Dreams Began”. Both ran during the game, and both reinforced the brand’s long-standing focus on human-centric storytelling.
“Superhero Belt”: A Grandfather’s RAV4 Legacy
The story begins with the grandfather taking his grandson for a ride in his 1997 Toyota RAV4. That moment becomes a core memory for the young boy. Fast forward nearly 30 years, and the grandson—now an adult—recreates the experience for his grandfather. This time, the roles are reversed: the grandson is behind the wheel of the all-new 2026 RAV4. The seating arrangement may have changed, but the love—and the inside jokes—never will.
Why does this work? Because it’s not about the car. It’s about the people in the car. That’s been Toyota’s storytelling sweet spot for years, and “Superhero Belt” delivers.
“Where Dreams Began”: Athletes Meet Their Younger Selves
The second ad, “Where Dreams Began,” takes a more inspirational tone. Created by Unverified, produced by Sweatpants Media, and directed by Alberto Blanco, the spot features Team Toyota athletes:
The concept is simple but powerful: rewind the clock to a time before trophies and glory, when every champion was just a kid with a dream. Each athlete appears alongside a younger version of themselves—mini coaches who push, motivate, and remind the world-class athletes why they started.
Dedra DeLilli, Toyota’s vice president of marketing communications, summed up the strategy perfectly: “Whether it’s the nostalgia of a ride in a grandfather’s RAV4 or the unflinching determination of a Team Toyota athletes’ lifelong journey, the origin shapes the destination for us all. Together, these stories reflect Toyota’s belief that while where we’re going matters, it’s the moments and people along the way that truly define the journey.”
Hims & Hers: “Rich People Live Longer”
Now let me switch gears to the ad that probably made some billionaires uncomfortable.
Hims & Hers returned to the Super Bowl with a provocative spot titled “Rich People Live Longer”. And unlike last year’s ad, which drew backlash from senators and lobbyists for promoting non-FDA-approved compounded weight-loss drugs, this year’s campaign takes direct aim at healthcare inequality.
The ad features a space-suited cowboy over the chyron “World’s richest man in orbit again”—a clear nod to Jeff Bezos emerging from a Blue Origin capsule. Another scene shows a shirtless, muscular man strapped to an oxygen mask while sprinting on an exercise bike, referencing biohacker Bryan Johnson’s expensive anti-aging protocols.
Dan Kenger, chief design officer at Hims & Hers, told Business Insider that the figures in the ad “aren’t specific individuals” but rather “symbols of an intimidating, members-only healthcare culture.” The brand’s goal? Start a provocative conversation about health inequity.
Grammy-, Emmy-, and Academy Award-winning artist Common voiced the ad, delivering lines like “The wealth gap is a health gap” and pointing out that the rich have healthcare that comes to them—formulated peptides, specialists on call, preventative care. Common described the fight for healthcare as a “revolutionary act”, especially for communities overlooked by the system.
The spot resolves with Hims & Hers offerings: diagnostic testing, weight-loss treatments that can be microdosed, menopause and testosterone hormones, and early cancer detection through blood tests. The message: the same access for everyone. “Now that’s rich.”
Hims & Hers expects the ad to ruffle feathers. Kenger said, “We don’t shy away from uncomfortable truths, and we fully expect this will ruffle some feathers. But if our message makes the industry uncomfortable, it’s because we’re exposing an outdated system that benefits the very few at the expense of everyone else.”
Novartis: “Relax Your Tight End”
Let me be honest with you—this might be the most memorable healthcare ad in Super Bowl history. And it’s not because of the science.
Novartis, the Swiss pharmaceutical company and official pharmaceutical partner of the NFL, aired a 60-second ad titled “Relax Your Tight End” after halftime. The pun is intentional. And it works.
The commercial begins with Los Angeles Rams tight end Colby Parkinson floating in a pool while Enya’s “Only Time” plays. Then, former Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen appears doing yoga. Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez swings in a hammock. George Kittle lies down with five different combs, working on his hair, remarking that he’s “so relaxed.”
The star power continues: Rob Gronkowski appears brushing a horse in a Tampa Bay Buccaneers jersey. Then Super Bowl-winning coach Bruce Arians—a prostate cancer survivor himself—walks up and explains that prostate cancer screening can now be done with a blood test.
“Why does that matter?” you might ask. Because traditionally, the screening involved a doctor’s finger. You know where. And one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, and many avoid screening because of the invasive nature of the exam.
Arians asks Gronkowski what he taught him. Gronk replies, “Relax your tight end.” The commercial then shows three male backsides going from clenched to relaxed—thanks to the blood test replacing the previously invasive exam.
Adweek collected reactions from creative professionals, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. Ari Abramovici, CCO of GUT LA, called it “genuinely brilliant.” Doug Kamp, CCO of Mower, said, “Given the audience, the use of legendary current and former tight ends immediately connects. When Bruce Arians finally delivers the payoff with a not-so-subtle raising of the finger, revealing that the prostate exams are now finger-free, I’m sure every man of a certain age collectively relaxed as well.”
This is what effective healthcare advertising looks like. It’s funny, memorable, and delivers a genuinely important message that could save lives.
Pepsi: The Polar Bear’s Identity Crisis
You can’t talk about Super Bowl ads without mentioning the cola wars. And Pepsi came ready to fight.
The 30-second ad, titled “The Choice,” was directed by Oscar winner Taika Waititi, who also makes a cameo as the polar bear’s therapist. The premise is brilliant in its simplicity: a polar bear—Coca-Cola’s long-time mascot—takes a blind taste test and picks Pepsi Zero Sugar over Coke Zero Sugar.
Set to Queen’s “I Want to Break Free,” the bear’s stunned reaction leads to a journey of self-realization. He lies on a therapist’s couch (Waititi, who asks, “Tell me about your mother”). He presses his paw against a restaurant window watching happy people drink Pepsi. Another bear offers him a can, and they’re later seen embracing on a kiss cam at a concert.
Pepsi backed up the ad with data: in the 2025 revival of the Pepsi Challenge, 66% of participants agreed Pepsi Zero Sugar tastes better than Coke Zero Sugar, and Pepsi Zero Sugar won 100% of markets where they conducted the challenge—even in Coke’s hometown of Atlanta.
Waititi told People he “jumped at the chance” to direct another Super Bowl ad after last year’s Mountain Dew spot. “I love just how every year, it’s just like they just get better and better and more entertaining,” he said. “It’s just such a fun part of the game too when you see the ad breaks.”
Other Notable Ads from Super Bowl LX
While Toyota, Hims, Novartis, and Pepsi got the deepest dives here, the 2026 Super Bowl was packed with memorable commercials. Let me give you a quick rundown of other highlights:
| Brand | Ad Title | Celebrities | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dunkin’ | “Good Will Dunkin” | Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, Jason Alexander | Sitcom fans |
| UberEats | Various | Matthew McConaughey, Bradley Cooper, Parker Posey | Food delivery lovers |
| Pringles | “Pringleleo” | Sabrina Carpenter | Gen Z and chip enthusiasts |
| InstaCart | Untitled | Ben Stiller, Benson Boone | Physical comedy fans |
| Michelob ULTRA | Untitled | Kurt Russell, Lewis Pullman | Ski movie vibes |
| Dunkin’ (again) | Various | Ben Affleck, Matt Damon | Boston fans |
| Bosch | “Justaguy” | Guy Fieri | Shock value |
| Meta x Oakley | “Athletic Intelligence” | Marshawn Lynch, Spike Lee, Sky Brown | Tech skeptics (for the wrong reasons) |
Entertainment Weekly named Dunkin’s “Good Will Dunkin” the best ad of the telecast, featuring Ben Affleck in his buddy Matt Damon’s role from the Oscar-winning breakout film, alongside a sitcom murderer’s row including Ted Danson, Alfonso Ribeiro, Jaleel White, and Tom Brady.
The worst? Critics pointed to Amazon’s Alexa+ ad starring Chris Hemsworth, where the Thor actor imagines all the terrifyingly plausible ways the AI assistant could kill him before being won over by its offer to book him a massage. “That won’t feel so good when the machines do finally revolt,” EW noted.
Why These Ads Matter Beyond the Game
You might be wondering: why should I care about Super Bowl commercials after the final whistle blows?
Here’s the thing. These ads reveal where our culture is heading.
Hims & Hers’s “eat the rich” messaging reflects growing frustration with healthcare inequality. The fact that a major brand is willing to air this during the most expensive advertising event of the year says something about the national mood.
Novartis proved that healthcare advertising doesn’t have to be dry or scary. It can be funny, memorable, and life-saving. One in eight men will face prostate cancer. If this ad convinces even a fraction of them to get screened, it’s worth every penny.
Toyota reminded us that the best car commercials aren’t about cars. They’re about people. The 1997 RAV4 isn’t the star of “Superhero Belt”—the grandfather-grandson relationship is. That’s a lesson every automaker should learn.
And Pepsi showed that even a 100-year-old cola war can feel fresh with the right creative twist. A polar bear with an identity crisis, set to Queen, directed by Taika Waititi? That’s not advertising. That’s entertainment.
The Bottom Line
“As the Official Automotive Partner of the NFL, the Super Bowl gives Toyota an unmatched stage to tell stories that connect with fans.” — Dedra DeLilli, Toyota Motor North America
Super Bowl LX reminded us why these ads matter. Not because of the production budgets or the celebrity cameos—though those are fun. But because the best ads make us feel something. They make us laugh, cry, think, or question.
Toyota made us feel nostalgia. Hims & Hers made us question the healthcare system. Novartis made us laugh—and then think about getting a blood test. Pepsi made us reconsider our cola loyalty.
That’s the power of a well-crafted 30 seconds. And on February 8, 2026, these brands delivered.
If you missed any of the ads live, check the official brand channels on YouTube—most have posted full spots. And if you’re a man over 40, seriously, ask your doctor about the prostate cancer blood test.
This is one of those cultural touchstones that brings millions of people together—not just for the game, but for the stories told in between. The 2026 Super Bowl ads will be studied, shared, and remembered for years. And now you know exactly which ones to look up.
