Super Bowl commercials have long been about spectacle, A-list celebrities, big reveals, absurd humor, and blockbuster trailers designed to stop the room. But this year, something feels different. Instead of simply featuring stars, brands are speaking directly to fans, borrowing their language, aesthetics, and behaviors in ways that feel intentional, coded, and deeply online. 

Not every celebrity-led commercial is a fandom play. Take Pringles is teasing Sabrina Carpenter as their spokesperson for Sunday. While she has a passionate fanbase, the campaign doesn’t tap into what makes her fandom distinct: no iconography, no inside jokes, no behaviors fans recognize as “theirs.” It’s celebrity casting, not fandom fluency.  

What brands are tapping into isn’t fame, it’s fan behavior. The way Swifties decode Easter eggs frame-by-frame, how Charli XCX’s Angels communicate identity through fashion and aesthetics, and our collective obsession with paparazzi sightings, blinds, and behind-the-scenes access. This Super Bowl, brands are finally building creative that invites fans to participate instead of just watching, and in turn, they aren't just driving awareness around their brand or product but full-on speculation around what may happen next.

Not that we needed further proof that fans are driving the economy, but to see major advertisers embrace fandoms in this way shows that it’s not just celebrities driving sales, but the fans around them. 

Here are our favorites: 

1. Dairy Queen: Leans Into Easter Egg Culture 

@dairyqueen

Halftime plans? Handled courtesy of Tyrod Taylor + D'Andre Swift Tag your crew for a chance to score the ultimate Sunday Spread. NO PURCH NEC. 50 U.S & D.C., excluding TX, 18+. Void where prohibited. Starts 2/2/26 @ 8:00 AM ET; ends 2/9/26 @ 11:59 PM ET. Official Rules & entry instructions: link in bio. Sponsor: American Dairy Queen Corp.

♬ original sound  - Dairy Queen

While Taylor Swift made appearances at the Super Bowl the last two years due to the Kansas City Chiefs playing, she will be notably missing this year. Dairy Queen took this as an opportunity to partner with Tyrod Taylor and D’Andre Swift in a campaign for Chicken Strip Party Platters, calling it the Taylor & Swift Halftime Feast. 

Just like any good Taylor Swift album launch, it started with an Easter Egg, Dairy Queen teased the campaign with a photo of their two jerseys earlier this week, showing their last names. They followed the Easter Egg with a video featuring both Taylor & Swift in a Taylor Swift Reputation aesthetic, announcing the product. 

2. Poppi: Leverages Charli XCX’s Aesthetic 

@charlixcx it’s just like, a vibes thing. you know? #vibes #poppipartner @drinkpoppi ♬ original sound - Charli XCX

Charli XCX is starring in a teaser video and Instagram carousel holding a Poppi alongside Rachel Sennott (who previously collaborated on her 360 music video and her new movie, The Moment), hinting at a larger announcement to come on February 8th (Super Bowl). The teaser uses Charli XCX’s neon, flashing aesthetic as well as her classic, iconic brat fashion. 

Unlike Dairy Queen, Charli is starring in the ad; however, it isn’t her appearance that makes this impactful, it’s the integrity of her world (i.e. her aesthetic, known collaborators, etc.) that makes this ad proof that fans are driving the economy. 

3. T-Mobile: Capitalizes On Fan Speculation Around The Backstreet Boys 

T-Mobile isn’t running a brand campaign, they’re fueling a fan theory. They started a week ago with a post on @deuxmoi that shared that the Backstreet Boys were spotted and may be re-recording their hit ‘The Call.’ The blind was followed by a teaser on YouTube and Instagram featuring the band warming up in their iconic all-white outfits, which is a callback to their Millennium album, but this time they have pops of T-Mobile pink. 

Following the teaser video, T-Mobile also shared a video with Pierson Fodé, making fan signs for T-Mobile, which ended with ‘The Boys Are Back.’ And just today, T-Mobile released a video featuring Machine Gun Kelly with a ‘to be continued’ message. While it is unclear how MGK is involved with the Backstreet Boys, we definitely have our eyes peeled on what’s to come.  

4. Pokémon: Teases With Behind-The-Scenes Content 

Pokémon is celebrating its own brand and fandom milestone with a Super Bowl commercial. While they haven’t released the video yet, they have shared a teaser with Jigglypuff in a ‘greenroom-like’ setting in a recording studio, playing into fans' love for behind-the-scenes content. Just like a musician would, the behind-the-scenes content is fueling speculation, which is driving awareness of what’s to come. Fans are theorizing that we’re getting a Pokémon album that includes collabs with various A-list musical artists.

5. Rocket + Redfin: Brings Fans Into Lady Gaga’s Creative Process 

Rocket + Refin shared a behind-the-scenes “Making Of” video that is almost 4 minutes long on YouTube that features Lady Gaga’s creative process as she reimagines Mister Rogers’ iconic song, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” She hooks into the meaning behind the song, the brainstorming process, vocal technicalities, and more, just as she’s done with her own music. Rocket + Refin is activating that same intimacy Gaga’s fans already expect from her work, which aligns perfectly with the feelings consumers want when financing their home. 

We are still a few days out from the game, and we’re so pleased to see how fandom will take center stage. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: there’s never been a better time to be a fan.