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🪩 Volume 123 | February 11, 2026

 

When the Coinbase karaoke ad flashed on screen during the Super Bowl, 47 million millennials suddenly remembered what it felt like to be 12 years old. That wasn't an accident.

 

Soooo why tap into nostalgia… now? (A TON of brands this year, did).

 

Here’s my take: Politics aside (and truly—this is not that kind of newsletter), we’re living in a time of pretty constant consumer anxiety and economic uncertainty. And yes, I know—have things ever been certain? But between social media becoming America’s favorite news outlet and our brains being hit with worst-case headlines 24/7, it’s no wonder everything feels a little… on edge.

 

So when agencies and brands sat down in those boardrooms—staring down an $8M Super Bowl price tag—I think a lot of them made the same call: take people back. Back to familiar faces. Back to ’90s and early-2000s music. Back to pop culture moments that feel safer, simpler, and emotionally grounded for millennial and Gen X audiences.

 

And it worked. In a crowded, high-stakes environment, nostalgia cut through the noise and locked in recall. Below are the campaigns that did it best—not just in the ad itself, but in how they carried the story beyond the TV screen.

 

Let’s get into it. 🍰

 

 

 

This is our THIRD AND FINAL week of talking about ~ the greatest Super Bowl ads of 2026. Missed the last two? Catch up here (1) and here (2). 

 

This one hit me straight in the childhood dreams (like, the ones I had of being a professional cowgirl-race-car-driver). Tecovas leaned fully into earned nostalgia (not cosplay) by grounding the campaign in real cowboys, real landscapes, and a kind of Americana that feels lived-in, not staged. The storytelling didn’t stop at the ad either: When you click through to the site and see them explain things like the one-take Amtrak horse shot, and how they used REAL cowboys/non actors, it all clicks. It feels intentional, restrained, and THAT’S why the emotion works. It earns it. It’s not the most airtight omnichannel rollout I’ve ever seen—but the heart carried it anyway (and damn well. Like shit. I nEEd a pair of these boots, stat).

 

The Tecovas Ad takeaway: Anchor your initiatives in real people and real process. The more honest the behind-the-scenes story, the more permission you earn to be emotional upfront.

 

This was nostalgia engineered to the nth degree—and I HECKIN’ respect the commitment. Dunkin’ recreated peak ’90s Boston ~ vibes ~ using heavy traditional CGI and visual effects (no generative AI or deepfakes, I fact-checked this) to quite literally de-age the cast. The Good Will Dunkin code giveaway (1.9M coffees!) sealed it for me. Suddenly this wasn’t just something you watched, it was something you could do. Out of the TV and into the hands of consumers everywhere :)

 

The Dunkin' takeaway: Nostalgia hits hardest when people can participate in it. Don’t just remind them of the moment… let them step into it. YOU BET I GRABBED A FREE COFFEE OUT OF THIS!!!!! 

 

Volkswagen completely rebooted an old line and reframed it for a new generation. “There’s a Volkswagen for the way we live” just hits different now, especially when it’s framed around the idea that life isn’t just about getting from point A to point B, but actually being in it. Driving isn’t positioned as a feature here; it’s positioned as an invitation. Into life. Into choice. Into actually being in the driver’s seat in a bigger way. And yeah… that feels pretty timely dontcha think?

 

 

Okay, this one FULLY got me. It follows a young horse and a baby eagle growing up together, kind of side-by-side, quietly working toward the same thing—the eagle flying when it’s finally ready. And then (when the flying finally happens) it cuts to a grown man watching it all happen and totally tearing up (ok same though).

 

The Budweiser takeaway: When you sell a feeling instead of a product, you create opportunities beyond the campaign itself—merch, community, and long-term brand equity (I don't even like beer and I want this sweatshirt lol) 

 

Poppi VIBES → Poppi continues to absolutely nail vibe-first marketing, and yes, I’m sure the PepsiCo backing doesn’t hurt. The homepage being one big, scrollable feed right now IS SO COOL. Obsessed. It feels experiential, immersive, and very online in a way that actually works. Also, this is their third consecutive Super Bowl ad, which tells me they know exactly who they’re building for and they’re staying the course. 10/10 experiential marketing. No notes.

 

Not marketing related… at all… but: Say what you want about Bad Bunny @ halftime: I thought it was ONE HELL of an experiential halftime show. The only word out of his mouth I understood was “Trabajo” (lol what does that say about me) but goodness gracious I had a blast watching all of the storylines unfold in front of the camera lens. 

 

 

Liquid I.V. → The singing toilets. That’s it. That’s the sentence.

 

Meta Smart Glasses →  I’m sorry but no. I don’t want to live in a world where someone might be recording me with their eyeballs. Instant creep factor. Hard pass. Did anyone else feel this way????

 

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I’D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR SUPER BOWL FAVES!!! Reply to this email and let me know if yours didn’t make this list and why you loved it!