Bad Bunny smashed records in 2020 when El Último Tour del Mundo became the first fully Spanish-language album to top the Billboard 200. Now, the Super Bowl 60 headliner is set to make history again as he performs the halftime show entirely in Spanish.

That’s why, ahead of the big game, language learning app Duolingo wants fans to brush up on their language skills.

In a campaign fronted by its unhinged owl mascot Duo, set to air during the AFC and NFC championship games from Saturday, Jan. 24, the platform is encouraging its 50 million daily users to learn “Bad Bunny 101.”

A 15-second animated film will be at the heart of the TV push, broadcast on CBS and Fox in cities including New York and San Francisco. It shows Duo dressed as Bad Bunny in a suit jacket and a Puerto Rican pava hat, as the character playfully walks viewers through Spanish phrases inspired by his music and lyrics.

The language is already the second-most spoken in the U.S., with approximately 43 million people speaking it as their primary language.

Pre-game buzz

Duolingo bought a five-second Super Bowl commercial in 2024 showing Duo farting, fresh from a butt-lift surgery. But more recently, it has just run adjacent activations, including “killing off” the green owl on Super Bowl Sunday 2025.

Duolingo’s chief marketing officer (CMO), Manu Orssaud, told ADWEEK that while the Super Bowl broadcast is a spectacle, the culture build is all in the lead-up.

“That’s when fans are sharing, obsessing, and anticipating what’s next. Instead of a one-time splash during the Game, we focused on meeting Bad Bunny fans where they already are — online — and helping them prep before an iconic, all-Spanish halftime show,” he said.

He added: “We believe language creates access, and this approach lets us be part of the moment in a way that feels more authentic and useful.”

Despite forgoing an in-game spot, which cost $8 million for 30-seconds, Duolingo’s pre-game TV push will be supported by audio placements on Spotify, Pandora, SiriusXM, and SoundCloud, targeting Bad Bunny listeners.

Social creative will refresh in the countdown to the Big Game, with five-second reminder ads also scheduled during the Grammys.

Bad Bunny and Apple Music recently unveiled the official trailer for the artist’s Super Bowl performance, inviting the world to dance.

Apple Music has been the official sponsor of the Super Bowl Halftime Show since 2023, succeeding longtime sponsor Pepsi. In September, the streaming service announced Bad Bunny as the show’s headliner for the 2026 Super Bowl, which will be played Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.

William Shatner just wanted to eat his breakfast in peace.

When photos appeared on sites like TMZ and MailOnline earlier this week, snapping the 94-year-old actor eating a bowl of cereal in his car in LA traffic, the grainy, paparazzi-style shots suggested a man caught mid-meal rather than mid-brand deal.

However, in the days since, another set of images has emerged, showing Shatner getting out of a car, with a box of Raisin Bran tucked under his arm, as if he had just popped out to restock his cupboard.

The coincidence started to strain credulity, begging questions about why Shatner was suddenly being papped like a Marvel star. And why with so much cereal?

As it turns out, the photos are part of a deliberately staged lead-up campaign for Raisin Bran’s first Super Bowl ad, a spokesperson for the creative agency behind the campaign, VaynerMedia, confirmed to ADWEEK.

The cereal brand, long associated with fiber and digestive health, is making its Super Bowl debut this year with a spot set to air just ahead of halftime on streaming platforms, with additional regional placements during the broadcast.

The commercial will mark the first appearance of the parent company, WK Kellogg Co in roughly 15 years.

Kellogg’s has positioned the campaign as a humorous nudge toward better gut health at a moment when consumers are paying closer attention to nutrition, part of a broader trend set to transform the game into the so-called Wellness Bowl.

The art of the pap-walk ad

In recent years, brands’ Super Bowl efforts have themselves transformed from a one-time 30-second spot into a sprawling, multi-week marketing event.

The Shatner sightings were designed to spark curiosity before the reveal, designed to let gossip sites and social feeds accomplish the early amplification.

The faux-candid rollout places Raisin Bran squarely within a growing trend of brands using staged paparazzi moments to promote their products. It’s an approach that blurs the line between entertainment, tabloid culture, and advertising.

In the last 24 months, brands including CeraVe and Velveeta have used such tactics, dispatching celebrities into public spaces with products conspicuously in hand.

CeraVe’s Super Bowl campaign famously fueled weeks of speculation by sending Michael Cera around New York carrying bags of moisturizer, while Velveeta enlisted Julia Fox to debut a branded hair look courtside at a Knicks game. In each case, the photos weren’t leaked so much as choreographed.

For Raisin Bran, tapping Shatner adds a winking layer to the formula. The actor’s outsized persona transforms the idea of him being caught with cereal into a gag, ensuring the reveal lands as a punchline rather than a bait-and-switch.

If the goal was to make a fiber-forward cereal part of the Super Bowl conversation before kickoff, mission accomplished.

The Oscar nominations are in, and it’s clear that for studios, it’s one battle after another this award season. However, amid ongoing M&A, winning those battles is even more important.

The 98th Academy Awards are slated for March 15, with Conan O’Brien set to return as host. Last year’s awards saw a ratings boost to around 19.7 million viewers despite streaming glitches during the Oscars’ first year on Hulu and Anora, a relatively small film, emerging as the awards darling.

Now, with the nominations in thanks to a livestream hosted by Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple) and Lewis Pullman (The Testament of Ann Lee), here are some quick takeaways that may clue viewers in on what to expect this time around.

Sinners sets record

Though it’s just the nominations, Ryan Coogler’s Sinners is already the big winner, nabbing 16 nods—including Best Director and Best Picture—to set the all-time record. The previous record of 14 nominations was held by All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997), and La La Land (2016). The record for wins is 11, held by Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).

Meanwhile, Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another racked up 13 nominations, joining Sinners in the Best Picture category, alongside Frankenstein, Bugonia, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, Sentimental Value, Train Dreams, F1, and The Secret Agent.

With Sinners, One Battle After Another, and F1—which had Warner Bros. Pictures behind distribution—being major players in this year’s Oscars, it may be Warner Bros. Discovery’s race to lose, which could mean higher stakes amid the uncertainty surrounding the studio’s future.

WBD is making a case for movies

With Netflix moving to close its $83 billion acquisition of WBD—and Paramount continuing to contest the deal—WBD made its case for theaters with its Oscars nods. The studio led all competitors with 30 nominations, largely thanks to the awards dominance of Sinners and One Battle After Another. Neon reportedly came in second place with 18 nominations, and Netflix was third with 16.

Netflix’s acquisition of WBD, announced in December, sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry, largely due to the streamer’s long-standing aversion to the theatrical business, causing Cinema United, a trade association representing theater owners, to state it was “deeply concerned” about the transaction, consolidation, and its impact on jobs.

Interestingly, Netflix has recently changed its tune on theaters as its deal with WBD continues.

Directly following the deal announcement last year, co-CEO Ted Sarandos noted he’d like to see theatrical windows “evolve,” which caused a stir in the theater community as shorter windows and fewer releases would hurt the industry. However, as time has gone on—and WBD has, coincidentally, racked up awards and nominations—the Netflix co-CEO has taken a more conservative stance, stating that WBD movies would be given a standard 45-day window at the box office.

Will success at the Oscars help WBD’s movie business as it transitions to Netflix’s control? Well, it couldn’t hurt.

More ad integrations are likely on the way

Ahead of the Oscars switching to YouTube in 2029, Disney is likely going to try to cash in on all the value it can. That means more ad integrations are likely on the way.

After all, Disney has already said the Oscars are pacing ahead of where they were last year, according to Variety, with the company typically seeking more than $2 million for a 30-second spot. The increased interest is likely due to the ratings boost, but also Disney’s success with ad innovations at past shows.

The Mouse House has already been implementing more ad innovation in its recent Oscars ceremonies, with Disney teaming with first-time sponsor Prudential for a cinematic four-part mini movie highlighting behind-the-scenes artisans at the 97th Oscars. Meanwhile, the 96th Oscars featured Jimmy Kimmel and Colman Domingo partnering for a Don Julio stunt during the ceremony.

Notably, WBD, this year’s Oscars frontrunner, rolled out its Storyverse ad format at its last upfront presentation. WBD Storyverse gives top partners access to Warner Bros. Discovery’s library of IP, including titles such as Harry Potter, Friends, and The Big Bang Theory.

With WBD being the major player at this year’s ceremony—and brands looking to be a bigger part of live events as viewership fragments—its IP might not even need awards to win big.

Benson Boone’s falsetto isn’t working for Ben Stiller.

Posing as heavily-accented siblings and dressed up as a ’70s-era singing duo, the two celebrities will star in Instacart’s second consecutive Super Bowl ad, directed by filmmaker and director Spike Jonze.

Last year, Instacart recruited a gaggle of nine brand mascots—including Chester Cheetah, the Jolly Green Giant, the Kool-Aid Man, the Pillsbury Doughboy, and more—to star in its first Super Bowl ad.

For 2026, it’s going down a more traditional Super Bowl advertising route, enlisting some A-listers and a healthy dose of silliness.

In two 30-second teasers released on Thursday (Jan. 22) titled “Harmonizing” and “Goals,” Stiller critiques Boone’s pitch and then scolds him for interrupting his misguided spiel about the wrong kind of football.

They’re dressed in shiny, structured costumes that match the green Instacart bag sitting between them. They also match one another, down to the mustache.

The delivery app is advertising in the game alongside two category competitors: Uber Eats and Grubhub. After three consecutive appearances—and a big adtech acquisition last year—U.S. category leader DoorDash is sitting this year out.

Both teasers will air on linear TV ahead of the Super Bowl. “Goals” will run during the NFC Championship Game on Fox on Jan. 25, and “Harmonizing” will air during the Super Bowl pregame show on NBC.

Paramount is taking a big advertising swing by bringing guaranteed programmatic placement to live sports.

Today, the company announced it was adding live, in-game programmatic buying for select ad units in premium sporting events. The offering starts with Paramount+’s UFC debut, Pimblett vs. Gaethje on Jan. 24. According to Paramount, this is the first time advertisers can get guaranteed, live placement in Paramount+’s sports properties.

“This initiative underscores Paramount’s commitment to media modernization, expanding opportunities for marketers to show up during the biggest and buzziest moments of scaled audience attention,” Jay Askinasi, chief revenue officer, Paramount, said in a statement.

The ad offerings work in tandem with Paramount’s Streaming Fixed Units, which provide marketers with premium, fixed ad placements within programming. For example, a Streaming Fixed Unit could give advertisers placement during the first seven days of new-episode premieres of Paramount series, such as Landman and Tulsa King.

Paramount noted that it will create a private marketplace with biddable ad inventory thanks to partnerships with Amazon DSP, Google’s Display & Video 360, The Trade Desk, and Yahoo DSP. This private marketplace is available for UFC’s full slate of numbered preliminaries and Fight Nights in the U.S. Meanwhile, the numbered event main cards will exclusively be sold as Streaming Fixed Units.

With the news, Paramount joins other premium publishers bolstering their programmatic offerings in live sports.

Notably, NBCUniversal delivered the first programmatic Olympics in 2024, helping the company set a record for ad sales for the event. Meanwhile, publishers such as Disney and Prime Video are also providing biddable opportunities in live events, as companies look to let advertisers activate within the biggest moments of games as they happen.

For the seventh consecutive year, Oikos is returning to Super Bowl advertising—but this time with a notably different playbook.

The Danone-owned yogurt brand will air its Big Game spot exclusively on Peacock during Super Bowl 60 in San Francisco on Feb. 8, marking a shift away from linear TV as more advertisers experiment with streaming-first strategies. 

The move also positions Oikos squarely within what some marketers are calling the “Wellness Bowl,” as health-forward food and beverage brands increasingly replace—or at least counterbalance—the traditional parade of indulgent Super Bowl fare.

The spot, titled The Big Hill, stars NFL running back Derrick Henry alongside actor and comedian Kathryn Hahn and uses San Francisco’s iconic hills as a metaphor for physical and mental strength. 

The creative was developed in partnership with BBDO, which has worked with Oikos on its “Hold My Oikos” campaign, while teaser content was produced by Danone’s in-house team.

Why Oikos keeps coming back

Oikos has become a Super Bowl regular by leaning into a consistent brand message rather than a rotating stunt strategy.

“We’re the No. 1 high-protein yogurt brand, but for us it’s always been about what that strength enables,” said Victoria Badiola, senior vice president, Oikos Danone U.S. “Our brand ethos is simple: stronger makes everything better.”

This year’s creative highlights two product lines for the first time: Oikos’ core yogurt cups and its newer ready-to-drink protein shakes, which launched last May. The shakes contain 30 grams of protein, five grams of prebiotic fiber, no artificial sweeteners, and just one gram of sugar per bottle—a formulation designed to appeal to consumers who want functional nutrition without diet framing.

Why Peacock, not broadcast

Oikos’ decision to advertise only on Peacock reflects how its Super Bowl strategy has evolved alongside viewing behavior.

“We’ve always taken a digital-first approach,” Badiola said. “Streaming lets us reach a younger audience that wants flexibility and a mobile viewing experience.”

Peacock reported its streaming audience grew 48% last year, a data point Oikos factored into its decision. But the buy isn’t just about where the ad runs—it’s about what happens around it.

The brand is expanding its second-screen and creator strategy this year, building on past efforts that included recipe content, on-the-street activations, and real-time social engagement during the game. Oikos plans to work with more creators than ever before, particularly those whose audiences align with the brand’s “strength” positioning, with specific partners to be announced later. Oikos declined to say which quarter the ad will run in.

Measuring beyond the spot

As the Super Bowl ecosystem becomes more fragmented, measurement has become both more complex and more central to Oikos’ planning.

“It’s not just about viewers anymore,” Badiola said. “We’re looking at earned and shared impressions from everything surrounding the game, and ultimately how that momentum pulls through to sales.”

That focus fits neatly into a broader cultural shift. As protein, fiber, and hydration take center stage in Super Bowl advertising—fueled by aging consumers, post-pandemic health awareness, and the rise of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs—Oikos sees its message as less of a trend-chase and more of a long game.

“We want consumers to feel strong,” Badiola said. “And when they do, they feel unstoppable.”