How Canada Showed Up During Super Bowl LX
Super Bowl LX will be remembered for its action on the field, a halftime performance that became the night’s defining cultural moment, and commercials that leaned heavily into celebrity and spectacle. Bad Bunny’s set quickly emerged as the star of the broadcast, captivating audiences with its scale, symbolism, and celebration of culture across the Americas.
But for Canadian marketers watching the CTV broadcast, another story was unfolding. While the halftime show dominated the conversation, Canada showed up in ways that didn’t rely on star power or excess. Instead, Canadian brands used the moment to lean into clarity, character, and creative confidence, trusting their audience to meet them there.
TD Sets the Tone with More Human
TD opened its Super Bowl presence by introducing More Human, a new brand platform designed to anchor the bank’s future around empathy, accessibility, and people-first thinking. Rather than leaning into product features or technological prowess, the spot focused on how banking fits into real lives.
In the context of the Super Bowl, this was a deliberate contrast. Where many ads chased spectacle, TD slowed things down. The work positioned the brand as one that understands that digital progress only matters if it still feels personal. As a statement of intent, it felt less like a one-off Super Bowl buy and more like a long-term shift in how the brand wants to be understood.
No Frills Turns the Spotlight on Value with the “Halfway Show”
One of the most clever uses of the Super Bowl moment came just before halftime.
No Frills aired its “Halfway Show,” a playful preview of the big performance to come. Instead of celebrity cameos or dramatic build-ups, the ad announced its own lineup of stars: no name products, each paired with their low prices. The creative mimicked the language and pacing of halftime hype, but flipped it entirely in favour of everyday value.
The result was funny, self-aware, and unmistakably No Frills. It did not just interrupt the broadcast. It became part of it.
A&W Makes Its Values Impossible to Miss
A&W Canada used the Super Bowl to answer a question many Canadians have quietly asked for years: what does A&W actually stand for?
Rather than relying on nostalgia or menu shots, the campaign framed the answer around principle. “Stands for what’s good” became a clear articulation of the brand’s identity, tying together food quality, sourcing, and values in a way that felt confident and uncomplicated.
On a night where many brands tried to be everything at once, A&W’s clarity was its differentiator. The message was simple, but it landed because it felt true.
Pepsi Canada and Alessia Cara Continue a Cultural Thread
Pepsi Canada’s Super Bowl spot featured Alessia Cara, and the choice felt intentional rather than opportunistic. Earlier this year, Cara appeared as part of CBC’s Olympics pre-show to the Opening Ceremonies. Seeing her again during the Super Bowl created a sense of continuity across major cultural moments.
Roughly twenty years after Pepsi’s iconic pop era, the brand returned to music-led storytelling with a Canadian artist at the centre. The creative leaned into energy and familiarity, reinforcing Pepsi’s long-standing relationship with music while grounding it in a distinctly Canadian voice.
Phoenix Health Uses the Moment with Purpose
Phoenix Health approached the Super Bowl with a different goal entirely. Rather than entertainment first, its campaign focused on access and agency, speaking directly to men about taking control of their health.
The tone was straightforward and confident, avoiding both shock value and gimmicks. By choosing the Super Bowl stage, Phoenix signalled that conversations around men’s health and telehealth are no longer niche. They belong in the mainstream.
William Shatner Brings Humour That Knows Exactly What It Is
The Raisin Bran spot featuring William Shatner delivered one of the night’s most effective uses of humour. The ad leaned fully into Shatner’s timing and self-awareness, allowing the performance to carry the message rather than overproducing the joke.
It was not trying to reinvent the brand. It was simply having fun with it, and that clarity made it memorable.
Man Made Enters the Conversation with Confidence
Man Made’s Super Bowl spot played with the language of sports greatness, asking who really deserves the title of GOAT. The creative debated the numbers, teased the audience, and delivered its conclusion with charm and confidence.
Without relying on celebrity or excess, the ad felt comfortable sharing space with much bigger brands. It was playful, assured, and refreshingly self-possessed.
A Halftime Moment Bigger Than the Game
While the Seattle Seahawks left with the Lombardi Trophy, audiences across all the Americas left with something a little more meaningful. A new-found sense of hope.
Bad Bunny’s halftime performance unfolded as a celebration of love, culture, and shared identity. As flags from North, Central, and South America appeared on stage, including Canada, the message was clear. America is not a single place. It is a collective, a continent, and a shared story.
In a night built around competition, the performance offered unity, joy, and connection.
Why Authenticity Still Wins
Taken together, Canada’s presence during Super Bowl LX felt less about standing out and more about belonging. The campaigns that resonated most were not the loudest or flashiest. They were clear in their intent, confident in their identity, and human in their execution.
For marketers watching closely, the takeaway was simple. Authenticity still wins.
