Happy 2026! We’re kicking off the first Marketing Minute of the year by giving you a rundown of this month’s top news. From Super Bowl ad teasers to AI-generated campaigns and the latest wave of social media updates, January delivered plenty to talk about.
Check it out.
Budweiser and Super Bowl LX
For millions of viewers, the Super Bowl is as much about the advertising as it is the football One brand viewers can always count on for a compelling spot is Budweiser. (And we always keep an eye on them since our own Grant Pace helped write and launch their iconic Bud Bowl series.) The brand kicked off the conversation around this year’s ad lineup, introducing a spot featuring its iconic Clydesdale teaming up with a bald eagle, marking Bud’s 150th anniversary and America’s 250th, and presenting a message of growth and friendship. The brand often works hard to pull on our heartstrings and leans consistently into the theme of nostalgic storytelling.
As we keep an eye on Drake Maye and the Pats preparing for the big game, a few of the ads we’re looking forward to are Hellmann’s with Andy Samberg and Elle Fanning in a musical parody; Matthew McConaughey and Bradley Cooper teaming up with Uber Eats for a series of commercials to settle the debate over whether football was invented to sell food; and Pringles and pop princess Sabrina Carpenter are partnering for “Love at First Bite.”
AI-Generated Ads On the Outs
Almond Breeze is poking fun at the use of AI in ad campaigns. Its latest spot featuring the Jonas Brothers leans into humor, opening with a pitch for a series of awkward, poorly AI-generated ads, with the brothers quickly putting a stop to overproduced versions of themselves. This comes after consumer backlash toward AI-developed ads, such as McDonald’s holiday spot we mentioned last month. AI is not going away but remains to be seen if it’s here to stay when it comes to producing ad campaigns. Blue Diamond Growers, the company behind Almond Breeze, said the point of the spot was to drive home, “authenticity, creativity, and a commitment to bringing real, meaningful connections to our consumers.” Spot on.
Social Media Updates
Some interesting developments on the social front that caught our eye:
Pinterest hired a new CMO, Claudine Cheever, with the intent to refresh its advertising and global growth strategy. Pinterest claims 600 million monthly active users and says its fastest-growing segment is Gen Z. But, it’s still an afterthought for many. We’ll be watching to see if Pinterest expands beyond that base.
The long-awaited deal to secure TikTok’s future in the U.S.officially closed this month. A new U.S.-based joint venture, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, will take over the app’s operations. Stable ownership may give the brands who stayed off the platform the last couple of years a level of comfort to re-engage, even as they keep an eye on the algorithm and content changes likely on the horizon.
Finally, Instagram is testing a new reels feature, an add-on that would allow creators to lock Reels during the first 24 hours of it being posted. This means that non-followers would need to follow the creator to view specific reels, allowing creators to deepen relationships with their community. When it comes to brands on the platform, this feature adds a level of exclusivity to Reels shared around announcements, giveaways, and more. This will allow brands to share first with their dedicated followers, then with the rest of the Instagram community.
See you in February!