Guest Blog
As a marketer and consumer, I tune in to the Super Bowl for the ads, and I know I’m not alone.
The 2025 Super Bowl commercials serve as a compelling showcase of innovative methods to seize attention and activate audiences. They are designed to make us laugh, cry, cringe and ultimately, to take action – all in 90 seconds or less.
The ads, which cost an average of $6.5 million for a 30-second spot, reached an audience of over 100 million viewers, making them a high-stakes platform for brands.
So, whether you were tuned into the Super Bowl to watch your favorite team, groove to the halftime show, or count how many times the camera panned to Taylor Swift, there’s something to be learned from these cutting-edge advertisements. And that’s the modern-day way to excite and engage populations.
Together, we’ll untap four hot takeaways from the Super Bowl commercials for how you (HR leaders) can connect with, engage, and empower your employees.
1. Authentic storytelling
Authenticity was a key theme in many 2025 Super Bowl ads, and HR executives can harness the power of storytelling to connect with employees and candidates on a deeper level.
By sharing authentic stories of employees, HR executives can humanize their organizations and create a sense of connection. For example, showcasing an employee’s health journey to reduce pain and create healthy habits like this Today.com article on one woman’s health journey with early menopause, micro-habits, and weight loss.
Human resource executives can incorporate emotionally resonant messaging into their internal communications to foster stronger connections with employees.
- The Budweiser commercial “First Delivery,” featuring a foal’s journey to deliver a keg, showcased the emotional storytelling that resonated with audiences and won the USA TODAY Ad Meter.
- The Toyota commercial “Journey of Dreams” told a compelling story of a young girl’s journey to pursue her passion for music, engaging viewers with its narrative and emotional depth.
- Yahoo returned to the Super Bowl advertising scene for the first time since 2002 with an aim to engage with its audience while possibly sparking curiosity and nostalgia. This exemplifies the power of telling genuine stories that resonate with viewers on a personal level.
2. High-impact communications
With the high-stakes of Super Bowl advertising, human resource executives can learn the importance of crafting high-impact messages that cut through the noise and leave a lasting impression on employees, ultimately driving engagement and alignment with company goals.
Doritos commercials consistently illustrated the power of creating visually compelling and memorable content (hands off my Doritos!). People engage with all their senses, so visual storytelling is sometimes equally, if not more important when it comes to employee communications.
Videos are an effective, approachable method that teams can use to showcase resources available or provide expert support at scale (insert Personify Health Connections plug).
Frequent communications are also key. Not everyone needs a specific resource in the moment that you tell someone about it, so bringing it forward on a regular basis is also a high-impact approach. Afterall, you don’t want to be like the 2023 Amazon Alexa ad when she humorously lost her voice…
3. Focus on wellbeing
There was a notable increase in health and body positivity ads, reflecting the growing importance of holistic health support in and out of the workplace.
HR executives can prioritize employee wellbeing by offering resources such as mental health and weight management programs, care advocacy and recognition programs.
- Dove’s commercial “Self-Love Matters” used powerful messaging and imagery to promote self-care and acceptance.
- Hims & Hers faced some backlash for its “Sick of the System” ad that took aim at the weight loss industry while promoting its compounded obesity medications. Yet it scored high in engagement, demonstrating the public’s continued interest in GLP1s and alternatives – a significant high cost-driver for employers that can be effectively supported with wrap-around programs.
- Novartis’ “Your Attention Please” ad shined a spotlight on breasts with some multi-generational star power (Hailee Steinfeld and Wanda Sykes). The commercial may have been a bit cheeky, focusing on everyday situations where breasts garner attention, but the message was action-oriented and effective. “We want it to be something that people think about, remember, and then take an action,” said Gail Horwood, chief marketing and customer experience officer at Novartis. With 50% of eligible women skipping mammograms and many types of cancer on the rise, employers can play a role to promoting and enabling preventive screenings.
4. Community engagement
Community engagement was a recurring theme in many 2025 Super Bowl ads, showcasing organizations’ commitment to making a positive impact beyond their own walls.
HR executives can foster a sense of community within their organizations by supporting local initiatives, volunteering programs, and corporate social responsibility efforts.
- The Dove commercial scored points here as well. By shedding light on an important social issue, Dove’s ad engages with the community and advocates for positive change, demonstrating the brand’s commitment to societal impact beyond just selling products.
- In “Reunited,” Budweiser facilitated the reunion of a military service member with their family during the Super Bowl, highlighting the brand’s commitment to honoring and supporting the military community. This advertisement not only emphasized the importance of community and connection but also showcased Budweiser’s efforts to give back and engage with its audience in a meaningful way.
- On the other end of the block (pun intended), Bud Light focused on building community in with dudes hanging out and BBQing in a suburban cul-de-sac. With its message of “Easy to drink, easy to enjoy,” think of this as your guide for building connection: rooted in joy.
While HR executives don’t have celebrity endorsements, they can still embrace tactics that Super Bowl advertisers use like authentic storytelling and high impact communications to elevate their organizations, empower their people, and create engaging cultures of health.
Looking for more inspiration? Register for our Thrive Summit to learn from your industry peers and experience some truly moment moments: https://www.thrivesummit.com/
About the author
Erica Morgenstern, Chief Marketing Officer at Personify Health
I’m a storyteller – for my 3 sassy girls & the companies that I work for. Being at the center of defining the company story created an unusual & successful career trajectory. My husband has a demanding job, but we always put family and fun first.
I could talk forever about…
- Anything and everything Peloton and NorCal biking
- Raising 3 strong and very opinionated girls
- Why communications is critical to business and life
