Why We Hope to See Nostalgia Over AI This Sunday
Let’s be real: for half of us tuning in this Sunday, the football game is just the intermission between the commercials.
The Super Bowl is basically the Oscars of advertising. It’s the one night of the year where huge brands drop $7 million for 30 seconds of our attention. And this year, in 2026, the temptation for those brands to cut corners has never been higher.
We’re living in the age of AI. We know computers can now generate video, write scripts, and clone voices. From a budget perspective, it sounds like a dream for these big companies—why pay a celebrity millions when you can type a prompt and generate a digital spokesperson in seconds?
But here’s the problem: We can tell.
As we get ready for the big game, there’s a tension in the air. Will we see a flood of shiny, perfect, soulless AI commercials? Or will brands remember that the whole point of advertising isn't just to be seen—it's to be felt?
Here is why we’re rooting for the "old school" approach this weekend.
The Craving for Realness
If companies want to win us over this year, we have a suggestion: Don't ask a robot to invent something new. Remind us of something we already love.
We are craving a return to the "Golden Era" of commercials—specifically the ones we grew up with.
Remember the Volkswagen "The Force" commercial? The one with the tiny kid dressed as Darth Vader trying to use the force on the dishwasher? It didn't have massive explosions or CGI battles. It just had a dad playing along with his kid. It was simple, it was human, and it worked.
Or what about Betty White getting tackled in the mud for Snickers? Or the Old Spice guy ("I'm on a horse")?
These ads worked because they had personality. They relied on comedy timing, human expression, and that specific kind of messiness that makes something feel real.
Instead of using AI to generate fake crowds or futuristic cities, we hope brands dig into the archives. Imagine a "Remix" trend where classic ads are re-shot with the original actors, celebrating how much time has passed.
Why? Because Nostalgia is a feeling an algorithm can’t manufacture. An AI doesn't have memories. It doesn't know what it felt like sitting on your friend's couch in 2014 getting teary-eyed over a puppy and a horse. Only humans know that. And in 2026, that shared history is the most valuable currency a brand has.
The Problem with "Perfect"
The issue with using AI as the "Star" of a commercial is that it’s often too perfect.
AI video generation creates worlds with flawless lighting, perfect skin, and perfect symmetry. But we connect with imperfection. We connect with a slight crack in a voice, a messy hair day, or a candid laugh that wasn't in the script.
When a brand uses AI to generate the creative—the faces, the voices, the story—it creates that "Uncanny Valley" feeling. It looks almost real, but something is off. And instead of leaning in and saying, "Aww," we lean back and ask, "Wait, is that fake?"
Once we question the reality of the ad, the connection is gone.
The fable & frame Philosophy: Assistant vs. Star
At our studio, we aren't anti-technology. In fact, we use AI every single day. But we have a golden rule that applies to the Super Bowl just as much as it applies to your small business Instagram account:
AI is the Assistant. It is never the Star.
The Assistant (Good Use): Use AI to analyze the stats. Use it to schedule the media buy. Use it to edit the footage faster so the editors can go home to their families.
The Star (Bad Use): Do not let the AI write the joke. Do not let the AI generate the actor's face. Do not let the AI tell the story.
The "Star" of the show must always be the human element. That is the "Fable"—the story, the emotion, the heartbeat. The AI provides the "Frame"—the structure and the data that holds it up.
The Takeaway
Whether you are a global brand like Coca-Cola or a small business owner, the lesson is the same.
You don't need a Super Bowl budget to win over your audience. You just need to be real. In a digital world that is becoming increasingly artificial, the brands that will win in 2026 are the ones brave enough to be human, nostalgic, and a little bit messy.
So this Sunday, keep an eye out. The ads that make you smile—the ones you talk about on Monday morning—will likely be the ones with a pulse, not just pixels.