Like the rest of the marketing world, Content Workshop watched the big game with a keen eye on the largest ad stage of the year. Ads for the Super Bowl this year cost an eyebrow-raising $7 million for thirty seconds—a considerable investment for every brand trying to make a splash. Half a minute isn’t a lot of time to tell a story, but we found the strongest ads this year did just that: from the earnest dream of a young farmer to the American dream of picket fences, these brands used cultural shorthand and good old narrative-building to reach their audiences.
We’re on the record already about the importance of brand storytelling. It begins by asking yourself what your brand believes in, who your brand is meant to serve, and why your brand is better than any of the alternatives your customer could choose. Whether you’re buying time at the big game or tackling TikTok, here’s what we learned about brand storytelling from this year’s Super Bowl ads.
Why Storytelling Matters in Marketing
Your customers don’t just buy products and services; they buy into feelings, experiences, and identities. A well-told story humanizes your brand, making it easier for your audience to connect on a personal level. When an ad taps into nostalgia, humor, inspiration (or, in some cases, all three), it fosters that interpersonal connection, the brand affinity that builds buying power and customer loyalty.
Plus—it’s important to know the features of your product, but stories make it unforgettable. A great story is the catalyst for turning a one-time message into a topic of conversation, a replay on YouTube, or a cultural moment. Brands must compete for customer attention with every second; storytelling is essential to set the best brands apart. Successful ads at the Super Bowl and beyond don’t just entertain; they reinforce brand identity and solidify what a brand stands for.
Whether you’re Nike championing empowerment or Liquid Death embracing your rebellious image, storytelling takes a product and transforms it into a memory. Think about it—what ads are you talking about days later?
The Little Farmer: A Brand’s Heartbeat
Among the drop-in celebrity cameos and thematic coincidence, Lay’s ”The Little Farmer” ad stood out this year for its heartfelt narrative, organically inspired by the real farmers who supply Lay’s. Within a minute, viewers followed the life cycle of a potato and the dream of a young child to grow new Lay’s-worthy taters with love, care, and attention. Through the changing seasons, the little farmer tends to her sprout until her perseverance results in her own small harvest—highlighting and humanizing the family farms where Lay’s sources their ingredients.
Storytelling elements are a shortcut to understanding Lay’s brand identity:
- The character development of the young protagonist embodies curiosity and determination, and her journey from planting a single potato to contributing to the family’s harvest serves as the heartbeat of Lay’s brand story.
- As viewers, we experience the emotional arc alongside the young farmer: the anxiety of seeing a fallen potato, the hope for the future, and the fulfillment of overcoming obstacles to bring new potatoes into the world.
- The tagline highlights real farming families, underscoring Lay’s commitment to quality and tradition.
The commercial reflects the heartbeat of the Lay’s brand: high-quality ingredients lovingly grown by real farmers. By tapping into the emotional resonance of authenticity, persistence, and community, Lay’s used storytelling to differentiate itself from its competitors as well as the other ads shown during the game.
Own the Dream: Connecting to the Everyone
Another stand-out ad from the 2025 Super Bowl: Rocket unveiled their “Own the Dream” campaign, delivering a powerful message about the significance of homeownership in America. A master class in nostalgia, each vignette in the sixty-second ad set to “Take Me Home, Country Roads” exemplified the deep emotional ties associated with the feeling of “home.” But the connection didn’t stop there—as the broadcast returned to the game, the 65,000+ fans in attendance at Caesars Superdome joined in a heartfelt singalong of the Americana anthem, seamlessly blending the commercial’s theme with a real-time audience experience.
Here’s why the storytelling worked for Rocket:
- Home is central to the human experience, so the relatable scenarios of families reuniting and children playing tap into the universal feelings of belonging we associate with “home.”
- Scoring the ad with an Americana classic evokes comfort and familiarity, exemplifying the “everyone” of the tagline “Everyone deserves their shot at the American Dream.” If you can sing this song, you can own a home, according to Rocket.
- The live sing-along with the stadium extended the commercial’s reach beyond the screen, blending the story of the ad with the real-world people attending and watching the game.
Would the innovative transition work without the effectiveness of the ad’s storytelling? These marketers don’t think so. Rocket’s ability to successfully cast their customers as heroes on their journey to homeownership is the special sauce that makes this commercial a success.
Common Approaches for Big Game Brands
Rocket and Lay’s evoked big, deep emotions with their brand storytelling—but that isn’t the only path. Distinct storytelling approaches that connect to your brand audience can reinforce what your brand stands for, whether that’s reliability, energy, rebellion, or empowerment.
- Wacky humor is charming, as we discovered in Mountain Dew’s “Kiss from a Lime” commercial. Transforming musician Seal into a CGI seal and performing a parody of Kiss from a Rose? Inexplicably iconic. The free-association humor of this ad made us feel particularly human…and in need of a Baja Blast Freeze immediately. Effective marketing!
- The right product can make you feel like Macho Man Randy Savage, according to “The More You Bosch.” Professional wrestling is the closest we can come to being superheroes in real life, so why shouldn’t our appliances aspire to greatness?
- Good storytelling plays with expectations, as we learned from Liquid Death’s “Safe for Work” ad. The incongruity of a surgeon drinking from an aluminum tallboy reinforced the brand’s outlaw image—a smart move for the “bad boy” of bottled water.
- Bring a message bigger than the brand, says Nike’s “So Win” ad. At the largest team sports event of the year, played by men, Nike chose to highlight the challenges women face as athletes, delivering an impact far greater than the sum of its parts for their first Super Bowl ad in 27 years.
By telling the right story, brands don’t just sell their products; they shape how people perceive them. Every brand doesn’t have to please everyone, but your story should resonate with your audience. As a result, you’ll cultivate a relationship with your customers that goes beyond preference and into loyalty.
Ready to Build a Brand Voice?
At Content Workshop, we live and breathe the kind of storytelling that showcases brand identity. From establishing mission, vision, and values to teasing out the quirks of your brand’s personality, we can help with that. Ready to write the story of your brand? Get in touch with Content Workshop today.
