Who watched the Super Bowl?
Don't worry—this isn't another hot take on the halftime show. But can we talk about the commercials for a second? Because I noticed something kind of wild.
As someone who works in digital marketing and social media, if the Packers aren't in the game, then I watch the Super Bowl a little differently- for the ads.
I'm not just looking at what they're selling—I'm looking at the deeper messaging, the patterns, the cultural moment they're trying to capture. And this year? The pattern was impossible to miss.
If you paid attention to the commercial breaks, you might have noticed a pattern I couldn't unsee:
AI → GLP-1 → Processed Food → AI → GLP-1 (in pill form) → Processed Food Delivery Service
I can't stop thinking about it.
Look, I get it. We're all busy. We're all tired. And these companies know exactly what buttons to push. That's literally what they pay millions of dollars to figure out.
From a marketing perspective, it's actually fascinating—they're not selling products, they're selling relief from being human. And they're doing it brilliantly.
The AI commercials were like "Why think when a computer can do it for you?" Instant creativity, instant answers, instant everything.
Then came the weight loss drug ads—both the shots and the shiny new pills. "Why deal with all that annoying diet and exercise stuff when you can just... not?"
And the food commercials? "Why cook when someone can bring processed, pre-made food right to your door in like 20 minutes?"
Individually, fine. Whatever. But all together? It's kind of telling us something.
We're basically being sold the idea that we should outsource everything:
Don't want to think? → AI's got you
Don't want to deal with your body? → There's a pill for that
Don't want to cook? → Here's some food in a box
And honestly? I'm not even mad at it.
These things exist for a reason.
Sometimes you need the shortcut.
Sometimes the shortcut is literally life-saving.
But when did we all collectively decide that doing things the "hard way" is the worst possible option?
As a marketer, I have to respect the strategy.
They've identified real pain points and they're solving them.
The fact that the solutions create a dependency loop?
Well, that's just sustainable business growth, baby. (I say this with equal parts admiration and existential dread.)
That loop? It's the exact same reason so many people's marketing is completely stuck.
Think about it. Someone wants to grow their business on social media, so they:
Use AI to write all their content → it sounds generic and gets no engagement
Buy followers or pay for reach to compensate → vanity metrics go up, real connection goes nowhere
Download another template pack or "done for you" content bundle → still crickets
Buy a course promising overnight results → course sits unwatched in their inbox
Repeat
Sound familiar? It's the same loop.
Outsource the thinking, skip the process, wonder why nothing is working.
The brands in those Super Bowl commercials can pull it off because they have $7 million for a 30-second spot and decades of brand equity to lean on. Your small business or personal brand? You don't have that cushion. You actually have to show up as a human.
Here's the hard truth I tell my clients: there is no shortcut to an audience that actually trusts you- just showing up.
AI can help you work faster, but it can't build a relationship on your behalf.
A template can give you structure, but it can't give you a voice. And an algorithm can amplify your content, but only after you've put in the work to make it worth amplifying.
The dependency loop works great if you're selling the solution. It doesn't work so great if you're the one stuck inside it.
Here's what's been bugging me: when you skip the process, you miss the whole point- THE Human experience.
Cooking isn't just about getting food in your face. It's about actually knowing what you're eating, maybe sharing it with people you like, maybe not totally sucking at a basic life skill.
Working out isn't just about fitting into your jeans. It's about feeling strong, pushing yourself, proving you can do hard things.
Being quiet and thinking through a problem yourself? That's how you actually get better at thinking.
The same goes for marketing. Figuring out what to say and how to say it and who you're even talking to? That's not busywork you outsource. That's the whole foundation. Skip it and you're just spinning.
I'm not saying we need to go back to churning butter or whatever. But maybe we've swung a little too far in the "optimize all human experience" direction?
I'm not here to tell anyone what to do. Use AI. Take your meds. Order DoorDash. I do most of these things.
But working in this industry, I've learned to ask: What story is being sold here? What cultural shift is this riding? And maybe more importantly—what are the second-order effects we're not talking about?
Here's the thing: maybe it's worth making a cup of tea and asking yourself what you're NOT willing to outsource. What do you still want to do yourself, even if it's slower or harder or less convenient?
Because honestly, in a world that's racing toward making everything instant and effortless, choosing to do something the slow way is what people don't even know they want yet and maybe one of the most rebellious things you can do.
And I don't know about you, but there's something kind of appealing and dare I say even sexy about that.
Plus, all that optimizing the human experience is terrible for conversion rates, which as a marketer, I find oddly refreshing.
And if you were wondering or care my top commercials were:
Pepsi v. Coke The Choice because if the beef is back between them maybe this means the world is healing and CGI > AI IMO.
Budweiser American Icons Between Free Bird, the change in the sound of his hooves when the horse grows up, to the wings and jump, this gave me goosebumps and choked me up. Absolutely beautiful.
Goodwill Dunkin purely for the nostalgia vibes.
