Brand storytelling is out. Lore maxxing is in.

Last Sunday, Benito Bowl happened. I know, I know—you've probably seen 17,328 breakdowns of Bad Bunny's halftime show (here’s mine), and scrolled past every hot take on whether AI ruined advertising or saved it.

And gah, wasn't it more fun when every ad wasn't an AI ad for AI or an ad for gambling. Interestingly the AI companies all hired creative teams of people, actual humans of course, but that's another topic.

So in regards to the big game, maybe this POV is a bit different.

Because what stood out to me wasn't just which ads worked. It was why they worked. And what that pattern reveals about where brand building is actually headed.

Most brands spent $10 million on 30 seconds to throw celebrities at the camera. Guy Fieri, Sabrina Carpenter, Emma Stone (tbh, the Emma Stone ad… it either got you or it didn’t, but yes, you should own the domain name for your name).

So, as we look at where brand building is going, only a handful of those million-dollar ads created something people are still talking about.

Ring's lost-dog-reunion spot tapped into something primal. I don’t know how I feel about knowing a whole community could turn their cameras into facial recognition tools, but the ad certainly did something.

Google Gemini showed AI doing something genuinely useful. And then there was Lady Gaga singing Fred Rogers over the line "America could use a neighbor."

Every year, the Super Bowl shows us what global brands are willing to bet on. When attention costs that much, you don't waste it. You invest in what builds long-term equity.

And this year's pattern was clear: Virality without meaning doesn't last.

Before you chase another trend, pause and check your foundation against these three shifts.

What compounds is depth.

Emotional Resonance Over Reaction.

The brands that landed had a goal of familiarity.

Lay's commercial was a favorite. It was built around a father and daughter and a story about legacy. I commented on the ad before the reveal that they were a family of potato farmers. I personally had a different feeling about Lay’s as a brand immediately at the close of those 30 seconds.

Google's "New Home" led with a family imagining their next chapter. The tech worked because the moment felt real.

Ring showed a lost dog being reunited with its family using AI-powered Search Party for Dogs. It ranked #2 in likeability scores—because people care about dogs coming home.

That's emotional resonance as strategy.

When a brand taps into family, belonging, or that specific ache of wanting something better, it bypasses skepticism. It just lands.

Cultural Relevance Over Novelty.

The strongest brands leaned into who they already are.

Instead of chasing shock value or overproducing spectacle (is anyone else over the commercials that feel like they’re yelling or blasting something at you?), they showed up in a way that felt culturally fluent.

The message wasn't "Look at us."
The message became "You already know us."

Dunkin's Good Will Hunting parody with Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, and Jason Alexander leaned into '90s nostalgia so hard it generated 5x the engagement of the median Super Bowl ad. T-Mobile brought back the Backstreet Boys. (But weird, so did Coinbase? But hey get the work Boys, ya know). Xfinity reunited the Jurassic Park cast.

These are cultural signposts that say "hi! we know exactly who you are."

Novelty creates a moment. Cultural recognition builds preference.

Understandable Over Impressive.

The ads that worked didn't try to overwhelm you with obscure metaphors. They made the idea obvious on first watch.

Levi's "Backstory" reinforced exactly what the brand stands for—authenticity and denim heritage—without overcomplicating the message. Just butts in jeans, set to James Brown.

People don't want to decode your metaphor or parse your artistic vision. They want to know what you're saying, why it matters, and what it means for them.

The lesson? Make it ridiculously clear. Then build familiarity through repetition. That's how people start speaking your language back to you. That's how inside jokes and IYKYK moments form. That's how brands become movements.

The Return of "Human-Made"

As AI-generated everything floods timelines, "human-made" is resurfacing as a badge of honor. As AI gets better and better, I think we’ll see brands that show their humanness win in big ways.

There were seven AI platform ads during the Super Bowl this year, more than beer and auto ads combined. But the one that resonated? Google's, because it showed AI helping a real family imagine their future home. Human need first, technology second.

Brands that lean into craft, handmade, small-batch, human-touched anything are commanding price premiums.

The swing is already happening. The brands that see it early will win.

Lore Maxxing (Why Your Brand Story Isn't Sticking)

Here’s a little video over on IG about this idea.

If people aren't retelling your story without you in the room, you don't have lore. You have a bio. And bios don't build businesses.

Think about Erewhon. They're selling a lifestyle story about intentional (and pretty pricey) wellness. You remember the $20 smoothies, the see-and-be-seen culture. Not what aisle the kombucha is on.

Or Bad Bunny. Grocery store clerk to Grammy winner to Super Bowl sensation. That's lore.

Belonging starts when people share the same story. When a brand offers a story that mirrors how people see themselves—or how they want to see themselves—it creates instant alignment.

Your story becomes the mirror. The moment someone thinks, That's me, or That could be me—it sticks.

If you’re not sure where to start simply creating a post using a hook like to tell you story.

So if you're building a brand right now, ask yourself: What's the story people will retell about you? What's the mythology that makes someone want to belong?

And if your brand is one that leans on humor, take a page from Duolingo. Last year Duolingo ran a social series in which mentions spiked 25,560% after they "killed" the green owl with a Tesla Cybertruck, held a funeral, then resurrected him. 1.7 billion impressions. Twice the social conversation of the top Super Bowl ads combined.

They built mythology people had fun participating in.

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