The pokemon super bowl ad this year is basically Pokémon walking up to the biggest TV audience on earth and asking the one question that has started a million arguments in group chats: “What’s your favorite?”
And honestly, that’s a smart move.
This Super Bowl LX spot is part of Pokémon’s 30th anniversary push, branded around “What’s Your Favorite?” and the #Pokemon30 tag. Instead of teasing a new game or doing a lore-heavy montage, the ad leans into something more universal: people love different Pokémon for different reasons, and they love explaining why.
What the pokemon super bowl ad is trying to do (and why it matters)
If you expected a big reveal, this ad is not that. It’s not selling “Pokémon Legends: Z-A 2” or “Gen 10: Please Stop Leaking.” It’s selling Pokémon as a shared language.
That’s the core idea: Pokémon works because it’s personal. Your favorite says something about you, or at least it feels like it does. And the ad’s whole structure is built to make you say, out loud, “Okay but my favorite is…”
In marketing terms, it’s a conversation starter. In real life terms, it’s bait. (And I mean that in a nice way.)
The hook: celebrity picks that feel like fan arguments
The main gimmick is simple: a lineup of celebrities shares their favorite Pokémon and a quick reason why. It’s basically a speedrun of “tell me you were a Pokémon kid without telling me you were a Pokémon kid,” except with people who are wildly more famous than your local game store regulars.
The picks do a few things at once:
- They give the ad instant star power.
- They make the “favorite Pokémon” question feel mainstream, not just nerd trivia.
- They create immediate debate fuel (because of course they do).
Some of the choices are exactly what you’d expect. Some are the kind of pick that makes you pause and go, “Wait… really?” And that’s part of the fun.
The best moment: Lady Gaga and Jigglypuff (yes, really)
The most memorable beat is Lady Gaga picking Jigglypuff, then leaning into the bit by singing the famous Jigglypuff lullaby.
It works for a few reasons:
- It’s instantly recognizable even if you only vaguely remember the anime.
- It’s goofy in a controlled way. Not cringe, not “hello fellow kids,” just playful.
- It rewards longtime fans without leaving casual viewers totally lost.
Also, it’s hard to hate an ad that knows exactly when to stop. The Gaga moment lands, you get the joke, and the commercial keeps moving.
What works (and why it works)
The ad’s biggest strength is that it’s built for sharing.
You can clip a single moment, post it, and the comments section writes itself. People aren’t arguing about the ad’s cinematography. They’re arguing about whether Psyduck is a valid favorite (it is) and whether Zygarde is an unhinged pick (it depends who you ask).
Other wins:
- Wide coverage of fandom eras. It nods to anime culture, Pokémon GO, and the idea of collecting without getting bogged down.
- Global vibe. It’s not just “here’s Kanto again.” The casting and tone push “Pokémon is everywhere,” which is true.
- A clean call to action. The whole point is to get fans to share their favorite Pokémon, not just watch and forget.
This is the kind of ad that doesn’t need you to remember a release date. It needs you to remember a feeling.
Where it stumbles: safe creativity and “okay, but what are you announcing?”
If you’re reviewing this as an ad, it does its job.
If you’re reviewing it as a “Super Bowl moment,” it’s a little… tidy.
Some fans clearly hoped Pokémon would use the Super Bowl spotlight to tease what’s next. And this ad refuses to do that. No big trailer energy. No “here’s the next generation.” Just vibes, celebrities, and favorite monsters.
That choice is intentional, but it comes with trade-offs:
- It may disappoint hype-driven fans. If you stayed up late for a reveal, you probably felt trolled.
- It doesn’t show much “new.” For a 30th anniversary swing, it’s more warm-and-familiar than ambitious.
- Celebrity-first can feel corporate. Even if the picks are cute, some people just don’t want Pokémon filtered through famous people.
There’s also the elephant in the room: the cost. When a one-minute Super Bowl slot is rumored to be in the “are you kidding me” range, people naturally compare that to game budgets, dev time, and the stuff fans complain about every year. That’s not the ad’s fault, but it becomes part of the conversation anyway.
The bigger play: Pokémon GO snapshots, #Pokemon30, and real-world events
Here’s the part that makes the strategy click: the ad isn’t meant to live only on TV.
Pokémon is pushing a broader “What’s Your Favorite?” campaign. One of the most practical hooks is a Pokémon GO tie-in that lets players create and share a #Pokemon30 snapshot featuring their favorite Pokémon.
And they’re also teasing “Day Out” and “Night Out” experiences through 2026, which sounds like real-world community events split between family-friendly programming and more adult-leaning surprises for longtime fans.
Details are still light, but the shape of it is clear: Pokémon wants people participating, not just watching.
How it compares to “Train On” (and earlier Pokémon Super Bowl swings)
Pokémon has done this before. The 20th anniversary “Train On” era was more inspirational, more cinematic, and more “Pokémon in the real world” energy.
This time, the tone is different. It’s less about proving Pokémon is epic and more about proving Pokémon is personal. That’s why it leans on faces, voices, and quick character moments instead of big action beats.
I don’t think one is objectively better. They’re just different tools for different moments.
At 30 years in, Pokémon doesn’t need to convince you it matters. It needs to keep the community talking. This ad is built for that.
Final verdict: a conversation-starter that knows what it is
So, is the pokemon super bowl ad good?
Yeah. It’s good in a very specific way.
It’s not the most creative Super Bowl spot of the year. It’s not a blockbuster trailer. It’s not even trying to be. It’s a clean, human, shareable piece of anniversary marketing that turns Pokémon’s biggest strength into a one-minute prompt:
Pick your favorite. Explain yourself. Argue with your friends. Repeat forever.
And if you’re Pokémon, that’s basically the dream.