The 5 Biggest Music Moments of Super Bowl 59

The Super Bowl is the ultimate clash of sport, advertising, and music. 

According to research by music and entertainment data firm Luminate, music listeners and sports fans are two of the biggest overlapping consumer groups. 

“Music listeners in the U.S. who identify as sports fans listen to music 14% more than the average U.S. music listener,” Luminate chief executive officer Rob Jones told ADWEEK.

This bodes well for brands looking to capitalize on the Super Bowl’s massive audience by incorporating music syncs strategically into their ads.

The use of popular music in ads has more than doubled in the past decade, per research from Kim Whitler, associate professor of business administration at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. It’s no wonder why: ads featuring music score an average of 5% higher in consumer sentiment rankings, she said.

Whether through the halftime show or the ads, Super Bowl 59 delivered many musical moments to remember throughout the night.

ADWEEK rounded up the top 5 below.

1. Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance

Lamar made history as the first solo hip-hop artist to headline a Super Bowl halftime show.

The Compton rapper performed a mix of hits and deep cuts, from “Humble” to “DNA.” He was also joined on the field by special guests including Samuel L. Jackson, SZA, Mustard, and Serena Williams.

Several brands tapped into the buzz of Lamar’s performance. Buick, Nike, Converse, Heinz, and Lamar’s creative firm pgLang appeared during the Apple Music-sponsored performance. PgLang, which Lamar co-founded in 2020 with his manager and longtime friend Dave Free, creative directed the performance.

At his pre-show press conference on Thursday (Feb. 6), the rapper said that fans could expect storytelling from his set.

“I’ve always been very open about storytelling, through all my catalogue and my history of music, and I’ve always had a passion about bringing that on whatever stage I’m on,” he said. “I’ve always had a form of that, that sense of [making] people listen, but also see and think a little.

2. Classic rock‘s comeback

In a crop of Super Bowl ads defined by Americana, silver generation actors, and a return to machismo, it’s no wonder classic rock had a moment in Super Bowl 59 ads via brands like WeatherTech, Starbucks, and Ram.

Set to Steppenwolf’s “Born to Be Wild,” WeatherTech’s ad showed that a quartet of Golden Girls can have fun too, while Ram took a Van Halen route with Glen Powell-fronted spot set to the band’s “Panama.” 

Starbucks also used AC/DC’s song “Thunderstruck” in a post-game spot advertising a free coffee promotion the Monday after the game (Feb. 10).

3. Nostalgic music revivals

Nostalgia is a key ingredient in successful Super Bowl ads, and several brands revived fan-favorite hits in their spots this year.

Mountain Dew turned singer Seal into an actual seal to promote its Baja Blast flavor. In the ad, Seal serenades Becky G with a parody on his 1994 single “Kiss from a Rose” called “Kiss from a Lime.”

Pfizer also leaned on a ‘90s hit for its ad, clearing LL Cool J’s 1990 song “Mama Said Knock You Out” to send a message about fighting cancer. The rapper and his wife also teamed up with Pfizer to share their experience as the latter was diagnosed with stage 3 chondrosarcoma, a rare bone cancer, in 2004. She has been cancer-free for 20 years.

On the regional lineup, P&G used Baha Men’s “Who Let The Dogs Out?” to introduce its new weed and grass-killer brand, Spruce. The ad featured dogs running amok in a yard, showing that the product is safe around pets.

4. A John Denver sing-a-long 

Rocket attempted a live singalong after its ad, “Own the Dream” aired during the second quarter. 

Set to a rendition of John Denver’s 1971 song “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” the fintech platform worked with FOX and the NFL to seamlessly transition from its spot back to the stadium, where the audience was singing along live.

While not all of Caesars Superdome participated, the camera operators panned to people who were out of their seats and singing along.

5. Original tracks and covers

Brands like Dove and Coffee Mate worked with artists for original covers and songs for their Super Bowl spots.

Building on its legacy of challenging women’s beauty standards, Dove’s “Keep Her Confident” was set to a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” by R&B singer H.E.R.

On the other hand, Coffee Mate enlisted Shania Twain for its first Big Game ad. The country star sings a song called “Gimme Cold Foam” to promote the brand’s new cold foam creamers.