When the lights dimmed and the first Super Bowl LX commercial flashed across the screen in Dalhousie's Rowe Management building Tuesday night, the room fell silent.
A minute later, it wasn't cheers that followed, but critique.
The Dalhousie Marketing Association alongside the Dalhousie Sports Business Society hosted a Super Bowl 2026 advertisement review night earlier this week. The groups invited students to rewatch some of the game’s biggest commercials and analyze them through a marketers lens.
Rather than talking touchdowns, students debated brand positioning, emotional appeal, and audience targeting.
With a 30-second Super Bowl ad slot costing millions, brands treat the game as the ultimate stage for marketing. For Dal students hoping to enter the industry, this event turned those very ad campaigns into real-world case studies.
Budweiser leans into legacy
The evening opened with Budweiser's “American Icons,” a commercial that leaned into the brand's heritage and patriotism. Students noted this angle, commenting on Budweiser’s subtle shift away from the usual outright American patriotism.
One student reasoned that political tensions could be the reason Budweiser toned it down this year.
It felt like the most lighthearted way they could be patriotic in the current political climate.
“It felt like the most lighthearted way they could be patriotic in the current political climate," they said. Adding that they felt as though “if they went any further with the American tone it would not be received well.”
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Pepsi offers a choice
Pepsi’s Super Bowl ad, “The Choice,” sparked conversation around positioning and consumer loyalty. The ad itself follows the story of the Coca Cola bear as it has to come to the realization that it may in fact like Pepsi instead.
The room buzzed with discussion as students weighed whether entertainment value translates into positive brand image. Overall, many students found the narrative of the ad intriguing, seeing the age-old rivalry against Coca Cola as central to the storyline.
I think they were trying to position themselves as a bit more personable than Coca Cola.
“I think they were trying to position themselves as a bit more personable than Coca Cola, trying to be a bit more funny,” said one student, highlighting the song choice “I Want to Break Free,” as one of their favourite aspects.
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Xfinity bringing dinosaurs to the Big Game
Xfinity’s extended "Jurassic Park… Works” commercial drew not only laughs, but played on nostalgia and demonstrated its service to reliability. Students praised this type of creativity and appealing storytelling.
With the appearance of celebraties from the original Jurassic Park films such as Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern, Xfinity played on nostalga to captivate their audience. By re-creating classic scenes from the now infamous franchise, this brand created quite the stur amoung those in attendance.
It's nostalgic because it has all of the original actors.
“It's nostalgic because it has all of the original actors, but also relevant because the Jurassic Park movie came out this summer.” A resounding example of success to this group of marketing critics.
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Bud Light keeps it simple
Bud Light’s 60-second “Keg” commercial saw the return of a previously tried and tested comedic formula. While some debated whether the commercial failed to live up to last year's hype, many thought the inclusion of comedian Shane Gillis was a step in the right direction.
I don't think it was as entertaining as last year's.
“The one last year with Post Malone and Shane Gillis did really well, so I think they were recreating it, I don't think it was as entertaining as last year's,” an agreement seen across the room.
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More than just commercials
Beyond the laughs and hot takes, the event served as something more substantial by providing an exercise in applied marketing analysis. Concepts often found in lecture slides were assessed for how they played out on a multi-million dollar stage.
One thing was clear by the end of the night: for these students, the Super Bowl wasn't just a game. It was homework.