Vote for your favorite Super Bowl 60 commercial on Ad Meter 2026
USA TODAY NFL reporters remember their favorite Super Bowl commercials as they prepare for Super Bowl 60 and vote at admeter.usatoday.com.
- Automakers like Toyota, Volkswagen, and General Motors saw a significant uptick in online search interest after their Super Bowl ads.
- Volkswagen’s ID.Buzz saw a 1200% increase in research activity, and Toyota RAV4 search traffic increased by 77%.
- The cost of a 30-second commercial during Super Bowl 60 was approximately $8 million, a notable increase over the previous year.
According to Cox Automotive, Toyota, Volkswagen and General Motors saw a significant increase in shopping and search interest after their Super Bowl ads aired this year.
The group said the hotspot led to a more than 50% jump in shopping for some Toyota brands and a 445% increase for Volkswagen’s ID.4 electric vehicle. Similarly, Toyota saw a 77% increase in search traffic for the RAV4, while the RAV4 Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid saw increases of 50% and 200%, respectively. According to Cox, Volkswagen’s ID.Buzz has increased in-game research activity by 1200%.
According to Sporting News, the two companies aired the commercial during the National Football League’s Super Bowl LX in front of an expected television audience of 127.7 million viewers.
Each automaker has taken a different approach to advertising, with Toyota and Volkswagen evoking 1990s nostalgia and GM unveiling a new livery for one of its Cadillac F1 formula race cars. GM also aired a new Chevrolet commercial during the Super Bowl pregame show that quoted a 1950s song memorializing the brand.
What did the automaker’s Super Bowl ad show?
toyota
Toyota ran two 30-second commercials during the Super Bowl. “We bring to life Toyota’s long tradition of human-centered storytelling, and in the process shine a spotlight on the moments, relationships, and dreams that shape who we become,” the company said in a press release.
Toyota said the first ad, called “Superhero Belt,” was about “the relationship between a doting grandfather and his grandson, and how that relationship grows stronger over time.” The ad depicts a grandfather in a 1997 Toyota RAV4 riding with his young grandson, who later recreates the grandfather moment in a 2026 RAV4.
The second Toyota ad, titled “Where Dreams Began,” featured Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua, U.S. Paralympian Oksana Masters and NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace. “This spot rewinds the clock to a time before trophies and glory, when every champion was a kid with a dream,” Toyota said.
volkswagen
Volkswagen ran a 30-second ad called “The Great Invitation: Drivers Wanted” during the second half of the Super Bowl.
The brand said in a press release that the ad is an update of its 1995 Super Bowl commercial, “Drivers Wanted.” The company says the slogan “has long represented Volkswagen’s human-centered approach to design, performance and culture.”
Volkswagen’s new ad is set to a classic hip-hop song from the early 1990s, and the company said it offers “a positive invitation to a new generation to say yes to possibility, originality and optimism by living life in the driver’s seat.” The ad also included an invitation for viewers to send a text message or visit a website to enter a drawing to win a 2026 Volkswagen Golf GTI.
The automaker released a 90-second version of the ad online.
general motors
GM unveiled the first Cadillac F1 team car livery in a TV commercial that aired during the Super Bowl.
The vehicle was unveiled in a 30-second spot broadcast from LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The car is scheduled to make its racing debut at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix.
Additionally, Chevrolet aired a new commercial during pregame coverage that GM said was a “modern take” on the brand’s ad “See the USA in Your Chevrolet,” sung by the late legendary entertainer and television host Dinah Shore.
How much did the 2026 Super Bowl commercial cost?
A 30-second commercial during Super Bowl 60 cost about $8 million, but some companies paid more than $10 million for the spot. That’s up from $4.5 million for a 30-second ad during Super Bowl 50 in 2016 and $37,500 for a commercial during Super Bowl I in 1967.
Total costs tend to vary depending on when commercial time is purchased.
“Sunday’s Super Bowl car ads show that when people see a car they want or want to learn more about, they take direct action online,” Cox Automotive said in a statement. But the group said automakers needed to think about “where we go from here.”
“Here, OEMs and dealers need to ensure that good advertising is rewarded by providing a personalized experience, whether completely online, in the showroom, or a hybrid of the two,” Cox said.
USA TODAY NFL Trends Reporter Nick Brinkerhoff contributed to this report.
