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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

The Wegovy pill ad puts more energy into explaining their celebrity cameos than explaining the news: that Wegovy is now available in a more convenient pill form. When the biggest benefit gets buried, that’s not $ well-spent. #SuperBowlAds

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

I really like Andy Samberg. I really don’t like mayonnaise. Independent of that, Hellmann’s ad isn’t $ well-spent. Mayo for mayo’s sake isn’t brand building — it just made me want to vomit. I said what I said. #SuperBowlAds

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

I usually love self-deprecating celebrity cameos in #SuperBowlAds, but Raisin Bran’s “Will Shat” spot with Will Shatner takes potty humor a step too far. Mixing poop jokes with a food brand just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. You're welcome for that image. Not $ well-spent!

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

The Alexa+ ad is tightly tied to the brand and clearly shows what the tech can do. But leaning into our fears about AI feels like a very expensive misstep. Effective storytelling, maybe — but not $ well-spent if it's more scary than attractive. #SuperBowlAds (2 of 2)

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Noticing a pattern: I expected AI ads this year to reflect our fear and unease. I didn’t expect AI brands themselves to be the ones reminding us. With the Alexa+ ad, the call is coming from inside the house. #SuperBowlAds (1 of 2)

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

I'm noticing a pattern tonight: a ton of SNL talent in these ads all night — Bowen Yang, Kenan Thompson, Marcello Hernandez, Michael Che, Colin Jost and more, yet very few spots actually let their charisma or comic timing shine. That’s a creative miss, not a casting problem. #SuperBowlAds

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Side by side, the contrast is stark. Grubhub repeats the brand and the benefit until it sticks. Uber Eats delivers spectacle, but less clarity. In a Super Bowl ad, memorability beats cleverness. #SuperBowlAds

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

“Grubhub will eat the fees!” is exactly the kind of message that earns the Super Bowl stage. Big news, broad audience, instantly clear benefit. That’s how you make the money work. $ well-spent. #SuperBowlAds

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

The Ritz ad mistakes “salty” for a brand idea. Bowen Yang and Jon Hamm can’t save a strange premise with little payoff. I’m not laughing, and I’m not learning anything new about the brand beyond “we exist at parties.” Thin for this stage. Not $ well-spent. #SuperBowlAds

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

The Xfinity Jurassic Park reboot isn’t scary because of the dinosaurs — it’s the effort to make Laura Dern, Sam Neill, and Jeff Goldblum look frozen in 1993. Reliable Wi-Fi is one thing. Time travel is another. #SuperBowlAds

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

It’s not #SuperBowlAds without the Budweiser Clydesdales, and the brand is inseparable from the idea. But when the eagle and horse merged into one patriotic fever dream, my eyes nearly rolled out of my head. Awkward CGI didn’t help. Not $ well-spent. #SuperBowlAds

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

I hated that Ring ad. Boo to the surveillance state. I don't want to talk about it. Ugh!

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Pringles’ Sabrina Carpenter spot really nails it. Ludicrous in the best way, clearly branded, and memorable for the right reasons. No one will forget what the brand is all about (craveable snackage). $ well-spent. #SuperBowlAds

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Prostate cancer is NO JOKE, but humor can be a smart way to defuse discomfort. Unfortunately, Novartis’ “Tight Ends” spot stretches the pun so far that the brand becomes the butt of the joke. Not $ well-spent. #SuperBowlAds

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Bud Light’s #SuperBowlAds spot keeps reinforcing the same idea: this is the beer for parties. Consistency is a real brand asset, and this one is far more fun (and confident) than last year’s effort. That makes it $ well-spent.

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

I was unimpressed when TurboTax kicked off its Adrian Brody ads, but the core idea is smart: positioning the brand as the antidote to tax-season drama in a mostly undifferentiated category. The message works. The runway was just too long. #SuperBowlAds

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

The Rocket spot is too expensive to be this subtle. If you miss the racism being decried — or forget it was Rocket — the message floats free. Good intentions don’t equal brand building, and that makes it not $ well-spent. (2 of 2) #SuperBowlAds

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

I was unimpressed when Intuit Turbo Tax began their series of ads with Adrian Brody, but building the case that Intuit makes taxes drama free is pretty good branding. $somewhat well-spent. I wish they'd gotten to it sooner, though. #SuperBowlAds

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Liquid I.V.’s singing-toilet spot is weird in a way that actually works. By telling us to “look at your pee,” they’re reframing the brand from hangover fix to daily hydration. I think this #SuperBowlAds spot is $ well-spent.

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

That Coinbase ad was a colossal waste of money. Which is par for the course for crypto, right? NOT $ well-spent. #SuperBowlAds

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

I don't want to comment on that Good Will Dunkin' ad and you can't make me. #SuperBowlAds

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

New context on Uber Eats: they’ve actually released 14 Super Bowl–adjacent spots with a huge cast and let users remix their own ads. That’s an enormous investment. It will probably bolster ad recognition — but I’m not sure it sharpens what the brand stands for. $ well-spent? Debatable.

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

The Uber Eats ad gets points for being context-specific, since it's all about the game. That helps some, but the brand needs to be much more prominent for this kind of investment. It's not egregious, their investment's not misspent, but I dunno that it's $ well-spent. #SuperBowlAds

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

The Nerds spot with Andy Cohen feels mismatched to the Super Bowl. The idea is small, the brand message unclear, and the creative doesn’t earn the scale of the platform. This didn’t need #SuperBowlAds. Not $ well-spent. #SuperBowlAds

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Dove’s The Game Is Ours builds on over 20 years of consistent body-confidence messaging. It’s emotional, uplifting, and unmistakably on-brand — a great example of equity paying off. This one feels genuinely $ well-spent. #SuperBowlAds

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

I wondered whether we’d see a Super Bowl ad that acknowledges how divided the country feels right now. Rocket/Redfin’s “America Needs Neighbors Like You” does it with a surprisingly light, humane touch. My heart appreciated it as a small gift, BUT... (1 of 2) #SuperBowlAds

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

I thought the cola wars were long over, but Pepsi’s polar bear having an existential crisis because he prefers Pepsi is a smart reset. When the differences between colas are thin, making “it tastes better” feel fresh and funny is a good use of the #SuperBowlAds stage. $ well-spent.

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

T-Mobile’s Backstreet Boys ad leans hard on nostalgia and pink branding, but that’s doing more work than the idea itself. When the song outshines the strategy, it’s entertainment — not brand building. Not $ well-spent. #SuperBowlAds

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

I enjoyed the Squarespace spot with Emma Stone, but it’s easy to remember the joke without remembering the brand. The idea and the brand aren’t inseparable — and at this price, that matters. Not $ well-spent! #SuperBowlAds

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Lay’s absolutely gave us the feels with its potato-farm story, but it reminds me of Budweiser’s Clydesdales. Emotional, nostalgic, beautifully made… and unclear whether it actually sells more chips. I’m misty-eyed, but not convinced it was $ well-spent. #SuperBowlAds (2 of 2)

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

I’m not crying, you are. In their #SuperBowlAds, Lay’s goes celebrity-free and leans hard into an idealized vision of farming, family, and real potatoes. It works — at least as a simple, earnest, and genuinely moving piece of entertainment. (1 of 2)

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Only Liquid Death could launch an energy drink by promising it won’t explode your head. Perfectly on-brand, relentlessly consistent, and a great example of equity paying off. $ well-spent. #SuperBowlAds

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

If I were giving an award for “OH SHIT” timing, it’d go to the Michelob ULTRA spot with Kurt Russell. A ski crash played for humor hits very differently when Olympian Lindsey Vonn was airlifted off a mountain today. What might’ve landed now feels somber and tone-deaf. #SuperBowlAds

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

Instacart may be grocery delivery, not restaurant delivery, but the Super Bowl sets a shared bar. Compared to other delivery-related spots you'll see later tonight, this one never connects the idea clearly to the brand. Even Ben Stiller can’t save it. Not $ well-spent! #SuperBowlAds

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

It’s almost too easy to call YouTube TV’s ad “meh,” but here we are. Jason and Kylie Kelce can’t save a spot full of weak “meh” puns that don’t tell me anything useful about the service — or help me remember why I should choose it. Not $ well-spent. #SuperBowlAds

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

I love a naughty brand, and Manscaped knows exactly where to go low and go funny. For a challenger brand still building broad awareness, this is classic #SuperBowlAds strategy: memorable, unmistakably on-brand, and $ well-spent.

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

Ramp nails it. The multiplying Brian Baumgartner gag clearly reinforces working more efficiently, and the brand stays front and center the whole time. Clever, memorable, and unmistakably Ramp. $ well-spent. #SuperBowlAds

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

I was expecting ads about how AI is scary. I predicted it as a trend. But having it come FROM an AI brand was a surprise! Anthropic's ad has left me confused. Not sure that one was $ well-spent. #SuperBowlAds

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

Every year I run real time commentaries on #SuperBowlAds from the perspective of a brand strategist. With each 30-second spot costing between $8M and $10M, the yardstick I use is whether that's $ well-spent. Not every brand needs the game's massive audience, and not every spot delivers.

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 06/08/2025

I miss Target so much! But I’m not going back. #boycotttarget

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 12/07/2025

I miss Target so much! But I’m not going back.

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

I think we should call them The Icestapo from now on.

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

GoDaddy has bombed #SuperBowlAds before, and this year is only slightly better. Their new AI service's premise—'makes you look like you know what you’re doing'—feels more negative than clever. I applaud their Goggins puns but they bury the idea in the ad. NOT $ well-spent!

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

This is #SuperBowlAds malpractice. What on earth (or in space) made anyone think squishing an alien would sell Totino’s Pizza Rolls? At $7M per spot, this is coo-coo bonkers. NOT $ well-spent!

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

The Booking.com spot with Muppets was perfection—and not just because it had Muppets! Each character reinforced that this is the right way to book all kinds of hotels for all kinds of people. A brand-builder extraordinaire! $ well-spent! #SuperBowlAds

booking.com

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

Stella Artois’ spot was high entertainment but low brand-building. A contrived Matt Damon–David Beckham storyline was concocted to say Stella drinkers have great taste. Cute, but where’s the brand emphasis? Will anyone remember the beer? Doubt it. #SuperBowlAds $ not well-spent!

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Rebeca Arbona 🇵🇷 @withonlyonec.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

Last year’s #SuperBowlAds spot from Poppi made a big impression on my friends. This year’s is even stronger—leveraging the insight that people love soda but don’t feel good about it anymore. It explains, reassures, and builds the brand. $ VERY well-spent! Thoughts?

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