The Cringiest, Creepiest And Downright Worst 2026 Super Bowl Commercials Binitha JacobFebruary 9, 2026 at 8:11 PM 0 The Super Bowl is not just a football game. It's also an endurance test for viewers, who have to sit through a parade of ads that are meant to be bigger and better than anything else on television. For the 2026 Super Bowl, one 30second commercial reportedly cost around $8 million, and some brands even parted ways with $10 million for the most expensive airtime on television. And yet, for all that money, some brands used their spots to make viewers scratch their heads.
- - The Cringiest, Creepiest And Downright Worst 2026 Super Bowl Commercials
Binitha JacobFebruary 9, 2026 at 8:11 PM
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The Super Bowl is not just a football game. It's also an endurance test for viewers, who have to sit through a parade of ads that are meant to be bigger and better than anything else on television.
For the 2026 Super Bowl, one 30-second commercial reportedly cost around $8 million, and some brands even parted ways with $10 million for the most expensive airtime on television.
And yet, for all that money, some brands used their spots to make viewers scratch their heads.
One of the ads showed a celebrity pop star building a man out of potato chips. One crypto company paid Super Bowl prices to simply show karaoke lyrics.
Here are all the commercials that dominated timelines for all the wrong (and sometimes right) reasons.
#1 Nerds
It was a "pinch-me" moment for Andy Cohen to star in the Nerds commercial for Super Bowl 2026.He promoted the brand's new Juicy Gummy Clusters in the commercial, titled: "Taste Buds," where the Watch What Happens Live host followed his candy friend, Gummy, and prepared to hit the red carpet together.Andy said he grew up loving the candy brand and appearing in the campaign felt like a dream-come-true moment."I only do things that are organic and that make sense, and I've been eating Nerds since I was a little kid," he told People. "Being a part of a Super Bowl ad is like a 'pinch me' moment in a life of many 'pinch me' moments." He said it was a "huge production" and he "got to eat Nerds all day.""So I was just having a ball," he added.
#2 Fanatics Sportsbooks
Kendall Jenner ruins the careers of athletles. This was the story Fanatics Sportsbook paid millions of dollars to say through their Super Bowl commercial."The internet says I'm cursed. Any basketball player who dates me kind of gets bad luck," said the model, who has previously been linked with players like Devin Booker, Ben Simmons, Jordan Clarkson, and Blake Griffin."But, today it's time to bet on something new....football players," she said, urging fans to place their bets on the betting and gaming platform.Matt King, the company's CEO, said they saw a "big spike" in their app downloads after the ad first dropped. "From day one, we were excited to partner with an icon like Kendall Jenner and, obviously, in today's marketing world, doing something that kind of blends the social environment with the traditional media environment is truly a unique opportunity, but that's the way you're going to get maximum impact," he said.But not all viewers shared the same excitement, with one saying: "Such a cringe ad. I thought she was better than this.""How refreshing....a commercial that shows off the moral decline of civilization. Anyone wanna bet on that?!" said another.Others praised Kendall and said, "Self deprecating humor is the best.""Her villain era," read one comment. "Her acting damn so good.""Kinda love her for making money off something people make fun of her for! Laugh all the way to the bank Kenny!" another said.
#3 Pringles
Sabrina Carpenter is lonely, so she builds a man out of potato chips. This was the simple premise of Pringles' Super Bowl ad that had viewers asking if it's "Comedy or [the] mental issues of a celebrity being exposed?" "Filming with a man made of Pringles was definitely a first for me," the Espresso singer told the Hollywood Reporter about starring in the commercial. "It was important to me when making a commercial like this that the concept felt authentic to me and my brand," she went on to say. "I wanted to be able to incorporate my sense of humor and also create a commercial that felt a bit more nontraditional for a major snack brand." Fans had plenty to say about Sabrina's potato-chip-made lover boy."This is probably real life for her hahaha," one said, while another quipped, "Even the Pringleman can't survive the Sabrina Cinematic Universe.""Her men always di*s at the end every time," one said."Comedy or mental issues of a celebrity being exposed?" one asked. Another wrote, "Me watching this while knowing I'll be a Single Pringle on Valentine's Day."
#4 Bud Light
Bud Light had former champion quarterback Peyton Manning, comedian Shane Gillis, and singer Post Malone starring in their Super Bowl commercial. Yet, viewers still said, "What a fail."The ad sees an entire wedding party tumble down a hill, hoping to save a keg of beer rolling down. The ad ends on a happy note, with everyone getting a mug of cold beer, but viewers said they simply weren't convinced."He was justifiably throwing the keg of Bud away, down the cliff," one said."Try as hard as you'd like, Gen Z ain't buying the p*ss water," read a second comment, while a third said, "I expected it to be terrible... and it exceeded my expectations!""GUINNESS FANS JUST KEEP WALKING. WHY CHASE SOMETHING THATS GOING DOWN HILL.?" one asked.
#5 Kellogg's
William Shatner made a real commitment to Kellogg's when he allowed the words "Will Shat" to be used over and over and over again in their Raisin Bran commercial.The message of the commercial was clear: their high-fiber cereal was great in helping with digestion and bowel movements. And William Shatner's name was used to drive that point home."Kellogg's wanted to do a Super Bowl commercial talking about fiber, which makes you crap really well — you s--- really well with fiber. And the problem was: how do you make that amusing? How do you get a laugh on that? And that's what they worked on," he told Entertainment Weekly."To their benefit, the advertising company started off with my name, and I kept saying, 'Can you do that? Does that mean it's me sitting on a toilet?' So we worked on refining what was in decent taste, if not good taste, about what is amusing about going to the bathroom," he went on to say.The actor admitted that "Will Shat" used to be the name his bullies used to call him in school. He used to get into fights in the locker room over the name, and it became a "sore spot" for him as a child, he said. Viewers joined in on the fun and left a load of poop-related puns in the comments section of the ad."Holy Shat," one said, while another quipped, "Doody Calls! "At the ripe old age of 94, this captain knows how to sit upright in a captain's chair and eat Kellogg"s Raisin Bran at the same time," a fan said. "I'm impressed.""You know he don't need the money. He's just having fun," said another. One asked, "Are we laughing at him or is he laughing at us?"
#6 Bosch
Brains were stalling and eyes were popping when Bosch aired an ad featuring Guy Fieri transforming into JustAGuy.The TV personality ditched his spiky blonde hair, his signature goatee, and his flaming-hot shirts to debut a squeaky-clean new look for the commercial, in which he goes from "JustAGuy" to Guy Fieri whenever he uses a Bosch product.The Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives host said he was so committed to the clean-guy look that he would have actually shaved his goatee if he wasn't in the middle of filming Tournament of Champions."The wig was real. My hairstylist that does all my stuff for all my shows came with me. The plaid shirts and Dockers I was wearing," he told Entertainment Weekly. "Everybody's at my house laughing because, you know, we'd do it in a day, and then they'd come back next week, and I'm Guy again. But we did use CGI on the goatee and on the tattoos."Fans loved the concept of the ad, but some simply couldn't digest Guy's unusual look"Soooo creepy," one said, while another asked, "Why have I watched this 3 times in a row?""Please Guy, please!!! Dress like this on Halloween. Please!! And I'll cook you dinner!" said a fan.A critic wrote, "After about 15 seconds in it was tasteless and obnoxious," one quipped. Guy's son Hunter Fieri also commented and said, "Hey dad… since you're just a 'Guy' could you please help fix our dishwasher? I've called 3 times!"
#7 Hims & Hers
"Rich people live longer," read the opening dialogue of the Hims & Hers ad, narrated by rapper Common. The pharamaceutical company advertised their new at-home testing offers, including an early detection test for cancer."All that money doesn't just buy more stuff, it buys more time…," the narration said. "The rich have healthcare that comes to them, custom-formulated peptides, specialists on call, and preventative care before they need it.""They get the best of everything, so why don't you?" Common asked.The commercial didn't sit too well with all viewers, as one said, "This might actually be the most evil commercial I've ever seen.""Is this from the same director as the movie 'The Substance?'" one asked.
#8 Mike Tyson's Plea To "Eat Real Food"
Mike Tyson showed up on viewers' screens, not to sell a product but to issue a warning. Sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services-aligned organization MAHA Center, the ad featured the boxing legend talking about eating healthy and avoiding processed foods.He spoke about his own addiction to processed foods and how he weighed nearly 350 pounds at one point because of it."I was so fat and nasty – I would eat anything," he said in the clip. "I had so much self-hate when I was like that."Viewers brutally roasted the ad saying, "The most unserious commercial.""Dude you can't use mike tyson to do an inspirational psa, everything he says is funny. it doesn't help when you've got him saying shit like nasty and fudgy lmfao," one said,"As soon as I heard the 'Fat and Nasty' my ass laughed uncontrollably," one said.Another wrote, "I'm very sorry Mr. Tyson, I won't do it again.""This is going to play at a time when people will be eating nothing but processed foods," another wrote.
#9 Rocket x Redfin
You can almost feel Redfin x Rocket's Super Spot commercial trying not to offend anyone as they tell the stories of two families, one white and one Latino, who move to a neighborhood. It takes a lost dog for the white family to really notice their new neighbors.The story played out to the vocals of Lady Gaga, singing the Won't You Be My Neighbor theme from Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood."Sorry Redfin and Rocket Mortgage use of Fred Rogers Won't You Be My Neighbor for (seemingly late stage) capitalistic purposes is creepy," one commented on the ad.Another said, "Redfin Rocket Mortgage got a little WOKE tonight.""Redfin/ Rocket Mortgage 'Neighbors' commercial: -used a child of divorce, a lost pet, and rage-baiting to sell you a mortgage. Fail," another declared.
#10 Instacart
Ben Stiller and Benson Boone went head to head in a showdown for Instacart's "Bananas" commercial.Directed by award-winning filmmaker Spike Jonze, the commercial opened with Boone and Stiller dressed in their retro disco-performer avatars.As they sing a duet about how they choose bananas on Instacart, Stiller tries to one-up his opponent but falls and crashes onto a drumset."Spike Jonze is one of our great directors – so working with him was a dream," Stiller said in a press release and called the Beautiful Things singer "insanely talented.""The whole thing was so much fun," he added.Boone returned the praises by saying: "Working on a Super Bowl commercial for Instacart blew my mind. However, adding Ben Stiller to the equation… diabolical."A fan called the ad "Comedy gold!!" and said, "Ben and Benny make a great team!""That song is going to get stuck in my head all day now," one said, while another agreed, "It lives rent free in my head! I sing it all day!" "It's like some Freddy Mercury weirdness! Ben Stiller is hilarious!" one quipped. "Dumbest commercial I've seen in a long time," one critic said. "Every time I hear Ben Stiller do that voice, it might as well be nails on a chalk board. This is supposed to be funny? Sorry, I forgot to laugh."
#11 Svedka
Svedka's first-ever Super Bowl ad brought back its old "Fembot" mascot to life. But people felt extremely uneasy to see character dancing and partying with another male robot."Genuinely the worst Super Bowl ads ever," one said, while another wrote, "This was terrible to watch.""Might have been the worst ad I saw," one declared."Cause only a robot could drink Svedka and look like they are enjoying it," another chimed in. "That shit was creepy af," said another. The brand brought Fembot back after a hiatus of more than a decade, and the commercial became the first primarily AI-generated Super Bowl commercial. It was also the very first vodka brand to have an ad slot during the big game."Svedka had been declining and bleeding fans for a while," Sazerac CMO Sara Saunders told ADWEEK. "We felt [the Fembot] was a valuable brand asset that had been abandoned."Saunders also spoke about the use of AI for their ad instead of traditional approaches."We have been very intentional that we've done everything to the utmost quality and there is human feeling in it," Saunders told the outlet. "AI isn't a shortcut."
#12 Coinbase
Coinbase took one of the most expensive advertising slots in the world and used it to show… lyrics of a Backstreet Boys song.The company said nothing about the brand and nothing about their offerings. They had no celebrity appearances and no story to tell. All they had was what appeared to look like a karaoke screen from a local bar, displaying lyrics of the boy band's hit song Everybody.Their objective was to get viewers to sing along to their ad during the game.Coinbase said their minimalist approach was intention, as they tried to stick out from a long list of "polished" ads."We're still competing with people's cell phones, and this ad will undoubtedly get them and anyone to look up," Cat Ferdon, Coinbase's chief marketing officer, told Variety. "We're really trying to effectively use this as the world's biggest singalong, to show that crypto isn't just for techies, but really for anyone who knows the lyrics," she added.
#13 Squarespace
Emma Stone spiralled over a domain name in Squarespace's commercial.The actress was seen struggling to negotiate with someone who owns her domain, emmastone.com."You listen to me you little piece of f****** s***, I make one f****** phone call, literally one, and your life becomes a bureaucratic sinkhole," she was heard saying while trying to negotiate with the person who had the domain."Your bank will believe you're deceased, your f****** mother will start a prayer email chain, your f****** mail will be f******* forwarded to some guy named Dale in Wisconsin," she continued, venting her frustration.
#14 poppi
"Make it poppi," Charli xcx was heard saying in the Super Bowl commercial spot for the soda brand. The ad opens with a student cracking open a can of poppi inside a classroom filled with unasumed students.At the sound of the can going "pop," the teacher transforms into Charli xcx, who is joined by Rachel Sennott in turning the classroom into a club. "That was dumb," one viewer said, while another called it, "Gen Z brainrot slop."Kristina MacIntosh, Senior Vice President of Marketing at poppi, said the addition of the Brat singer in the ad "was key.""She shapes culture, she doesn't chase it. That's where the most powerful brand moments come from today," she said in a statement.
#15 Openai
Nothing screams "start using artificial intelligence" quite like aggressive reminders of what humans used to do before machines took over.The ad promoted OpenAI's coding assistant called Codex, but it somehow managed to romanticize old-school creativity with shots of handwritten notes and people reading books."A Codex ad with only three seconds of Codex in it, zero information about what it actually is, and heavily centered on someone enjoying thinking through science with analog formats like paper and whiteboards," one commented online. "Who was this advertising to?""This ad fails at its basic job: explaining what Codex is and why I should care. The entire video assumes I already know too much," said another.
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: February 09, 2026 at 05:00PM on Source: MANUEL MAG
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