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How to Write a 30 Second Commercial for the Super Bowl

We previously wrote about using emotional advertising and storytelling to market your brand. In that article, we analyzed a Super Bowl ad and how it was written, but we wanted to break down more ads from 2025’s Super Bowl LIX.

 

Emotional Advertising Refresher

If you remember from the previous article, when writing a commercial like a Super Bowl ad, you want to identify how you want your audience to feel when watching your commercial. A lot of times this comes organically without having to think about it or even identify it, but a lot of times this is missing from big Super Bowl ads because they’re solely focused on coming up with a cool idea that features a celebrity.

Here’s a list of common emotional motivators:

  • Sense of belonging
  • Stand out from the crowd
  • Sense of achievement
  • Attain success
  • Have hope or confidence in the future
  • Enjoy a sense of well-being
  • Feel a sense of thrill
  • Live up to my self image
  • Sense of security
  • Fear of missing out (FOMO)

 

For example, Super Bowl LVIII (2024) Budweiser commercial, “Old School Delivery,” featured the emotional motivators “overcome life’s obstacles” or perhaps “succeed in life.”

 

Storytelling Breakdown Refresher

Next, you want to create a story with the following elements:

 

  • Hero
  • Goal
  • Obstacle
  • Attempt to reach goal
  • Failure
  • Climax
  • Resolution

 

In Budweiser’s “Old School Delivery” ad, the elements broke down this way:

  • Hero: Beer delivery man
  • Goal: Deliver beer to the bar
  • Obstacle: Snow storm and closed roads
  • Attempt to reach goal: Man uses horses to transport beer
  • Failure: Gets lost in the snow storm
  • Climax: Local dog shows them the way
  • Resolution: Bar patrons get their beer

 

While you can have popular, enduring commercials that don’t have these elements—such as Old Spice’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” ad, Budweiser’s “Whassup” ad, or Wendy’s “Where’s the Beef?” ad—you are more likely to connect with your audience by using these storytelling elements.

Super Bowl LIX (2025) Ads: Story Analysis

Let’s take a look at commercials from the 2025 Super Bowl and break them down to see how they used these story elements.

 

STōK Cold Brew Coffee, “Hollywood Magic”

In this ad, Channing Tatum is brought into a soccer team’s locker room—Ryan Reynolds’ and Rob McElhenney’s Wrexham AFC in this case—to teach them how to do better celebration dances. He passes them STōK Cold Brew Coffee to get them energized.

 

The story unfolds like this:

  • Hero: Channing Tatum, dance instructor
  • Goal: Get the soccer players to have better celebration dances
  • Obstacle: Players are not good dancers
  • Attempt to reach goal: Channing Tatum gives a demonstration of multiple dance ideas, each escalating beyond the one before
  • Failure: After finishing his demonstration, the players appear stunned and even a little scared of the prospect of dancing this way
  • Climax: One player drinks his STōK Cold Brew Coffee, the music kicks back in and they all start dancing
  • Resolution: Channing tells the coach that they’re ready

 

Budweiser, “Big Men on Cul-de-Sac”

In this ad, Shane Gillis and Post Malone help a neighbor make his lame party more exciting. Peyton Manning shows up to hang out, too.

 

The story unfolds like this:

  • Hero: Shane Gillis and Post Malone—neighbors of the lame party-thrower
  • Goal: Make the lame party more exciting
  • Obstacle: Lame neighbors who are busy with their day
  • Attempt to reach goal: Shane and Post Malone shoot Budweiser beers to various neighbors using a leaf blower like a rocket launcher, with the beers functioning as invitations
    • Each launch of the beer invitations escalates, from ringing a doorbell to landing in jello dessert
  • Failure: [No failure in this ad]
  • Climax: The party grows until all the neighbors in the area are there having a good time
  • Resolution: A neighbor stands atop a boat and Shane tells him to get down because the HOA’s already breathing down his neck

 

If they had wanted to work in a failure, the HOA could have shown up to shut down the party, then been given a beer to bring them into the fold, and have the party kick back into gear. Regardless, they had so much to work with, including Peyton Manning hanging out at the party, that the ad still works.

 

Stella Artois, “David & Dave: The Other David”

In this ad, David Beckham’s parents inform him about his twin brother he never knew about. The twin is in America, and David goes to meet and connect with him.

 

The story unfolds like this:

  • Hero: David Beckham
  • Goal: Meet and bond with his twin brother
  • Obstacle: His twin, Dave Beckham, played by Matt Damon
  • Attempt to reach goal: David arrives at Dave’s house and tries to connect with him over food and sports
  • Failure: David asks confused questions about the Buffalo wings, confounding Dave; Dave kicks a football, and David appears to question whether they can connect
  • Climax: David notices that Dave gave him a Stella Artois beer and they bond over having good taste
  • Resolution: David tells Dave about his soccer career

 

Conclusion: Writing a 30 Second Ad for the Super Bowl

When writing a 30-second commercial, whether for the Super Bowl or a local business, it’s ultimately about tapping into universal emotional motivators and crafting a compelling story that elicits that emotion. The best ads aren’t simply entertaining—they resonate with audiences by creating a hero, a goal, obstacles, and a satisfying resolution.

If you’re looking to craft an ad that truly stands out, contact COLAB today. We’ll make sure your ad is an entertaining story that serves your brand’s goals.

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