February 2026Watched on TV.
Judged on Social Video
Where the Super Bowl Really Played Out
The Super Bowl may be broadcast on TV, but watching isn't understanding. The real moments and conversations unfolded on social video across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook.
dig leads the market in Social Video Intelligence, helping brands see, understand, and control the narrative in a Video-First world in real time. For Super Bowl 2026, we analyzed how the crowd actually responded.
155K videos in 6 hours
dig captured content from two hours before kickoff to two hours after the final whistle. These aren't just numbers. They're the earliest indicators of narrative formation - what people latched onto, what gained velocity, and what started shaping public perception.
How dig Ranks Ads & Picks the Winners
We ranked the top 20 most talked-about ads based on pure engagement rate. No opinions. No filters. But “most talked about” doesn't always mean “best.”
To separate “most talked about” from “best received,” we created the dig Ad Impact Score that rewards the ads people liked, rather than just ads they reacted to. This score is measured on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest.
What Really Counts
- Sentiment is the driver. Ads with strong positive reactions rise to the top.
- Engagement is a boost, not the boss. It lifts the score, but can't rescue a disliked ad.
- Normalized for fairness. Each ad's engagement is measured against the top performer to ensure a level playing field.
The Off-Field Highlights
This year's Super Bowl wasn't just won on the field. It was won in the 15-minute halftime show, where social video snapped into a single moment, with user generated posts spiking like crazy at 5:30 PM PST. Bad Bunny's halftime show lit the fuse, then the surprise guest reveals poured gasoline on it. Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin hit at the exact same second, and the reaction went viral within 35 seconds.
What Drove the Narratives
- A single cultural trigger, not a slow build. One cultural trigger: No slow build. Halftime hit like a switch, and 5:30–5:45 PM PST became the night's peak in posting volume.
- Surprise reveals that hit instantly and spread even faster. Surprises that spread faster than the broadcast. Lady Gaga's salsa cameo and Ricky Martin's entrance both surfaced at 5:30 PM PST and triggered instant reaction content.
- Social proof from celebrity reactions that extended the story. Celebrity reactions kept it alive. Posts featuring Jay-Z, Kim Kardashian, Lewis Hamilton and Pedro Pascal dropped in the same peak window.
Battle of the Brands
Legacy brands came back with confidence. Newcomers showed up with something to prove. Multi-brand powerhouses played the volume game. Innovators pushed the edges of format and tech. Here's how the fiercest category battles played out and who took the lead.
Innovation, Food Fight & Food Delivery
Anthropic played offense with a direct jab at rivals. Meta/Oakley and Salesforce showcased product innovation. In food, Pringles leaned on celebrity heat and humor while Lay's pulled heartstrings; Grubhub and Uber Eats fought over delivery.
Celebrity Wars
Jennifer Aniston and Ben Affleck dominated brand endorsements with nostalgic, laugh-first spots, while Manning pulled off the rare double win - landing in commercials and showing up with real NFL credibility. In Fast & Furious, Toyota and Cadillac had similar social volume, but Cadillac generated far bigger “wow” engagement.
Happy Hour, Thirst Trap & Money Time
Bud Light leaned on comedy and Manning's NFL legend status; Michelob Ultra went after the active-lifestyle crowd. Poppi's Chart-XCX spot sparked positive hype. Rocket Mortgage made the Super Bowl feel personal, while TurboTax made taxes feel like theater.
And the Winners are…
Not all ads are created equal. Some delivered reach. Others delivered real impact. A few became unforgettable. Out of all the Super Bowl ads that flooded social feeds, these are the best performers according to dig's Ad Impact Score.
The Top 10 Most Talked About Ads
The conversation was not determined by how much each brand spent. This Super Bowl it was all about cutting through the hype with breakthrough creative. We ranked them by engagement rate, not vanity metrics. The color codes indicate the distribution between positive, neutral and negative posts.
The Moment We've All Been Waiting For: The Halftime Show
The game paused. Bad Bunny pressed play, turning halftime into a global spectacle that hijacked the conversation. We tracked the real-time surges, decoded the dominant narratives, and surfaced the emotional spikes that made this performance a viral phenomenon.
What Drove the Narratives
- A cultural win that broke through. The dominant narrative praised Bad Bunny's halftime show as a breakthrough moment for Latin representation, calling it a proud, inclusive cultural milestone.
- Backlash fueled by language and politics. A vocal minority pushed back, citing frustration over the Spanish-language performance. Some posts called for boycotts, drawing in figures like Trump and Jake Paul.
- Surprise guests spark viral moments. Unannounced appearances from Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, and Pedro Pascal lit up the conversation, including a couple getting married mid-show.
Who Fueled the Buzz
We analyzed gender, generation, and content type to reveal who drove the conversation, from the split between brand-led and user-generated content to the specific demographics that amplified key moments.
About dig
dig leads the market in Social Video Intelligence, enabling enterprises to see, understand, and control the life of their brands on social video in a video-first world. Until now, brands have been flying blind, unable to track their reputation or take advantage of brand-boosting opportunities locked inside billions of clips.
dig captures and analyzes 90% of brand-related social videos, decoding spoken word, visuals, and trends, so brands can finally see, respond, and thrive. This is especially crucial now that AI-generated content is accelerating video creation exponentially.
