If there’s any time a $15 million minute is worth it, it’s during the Super Bowl, when football, music, and even food fans unite to watch the biggest game of the year. But simply securing a coveted commercial slot isn’t enough for companies: once those 100 million viewers tune in, the real challenge is turning that attention into website visits, brand recognition, and online chatter. One way to do so? A controversial commercial.
Many brands, from fast food chains to AI startups, have given in to risky advertising strategies in Super Bowl history, with some teetering on the line of cultural insensitivity, sexism, and even morbidity. Some ads were questionable the moment—or even before—they aired; others became infamous only after viewers had time to take in what they’d just seen. But at the end of the day, these are the spots that get people talking long after the last touchdown. Before the next batch of big‑budget ads hits the screen, let’s revisit some of the most controversial Super Bowl commercials of all time.
- 1. Carl’s Jr. “All-Natural” (2015)
- 2. Nationwide “The Boy Who Couldn’t Grow Up” (2015)
- 3. 84 Lumber “The Journey Begins” (2017)
- 4. PETA “Last Longer” (2016)
- 5. General Motors “Robot Suicide” (2007)
- 6. Tim Tebow “Focus on the Family” (2010)
- 7. Groupon “Tibet” (2011)
- 8. Anthropic “AI vs ChatGPT” (2026)
1. Carl’s Jr. “All-Natural” (2015)
Sex sells… cheeseburgers? Carl’s Jr.’s “All-Natural” ad featured Charlotte McKinney in skimpy attire, sensually biting the burger while ogling men looked on. Critics slammed the spot as sexist, with one Twitter user declaring it had “set feminism back four decades.”
The backlash resurfaced a decade later when Carl’s Jr. nodded to its old playbook, featuring TikTok star Alix Earle in a similar Super Bowl spot. This time she promoted a different burger but kept the bikini, proving the brand’s racy approach still sparks debate.
2. Nationwide “The Boy Who Couldn’t Grow Up” (2015)
Shock value was the name of the game at Super Bowl XLIX, and Nationwide went all-in—to the dark side. The commercial follows a child who presumably died young, listing all the milestones he missed to sell insurance through fear. The ad’s morbid twist didn’t mesh well with the festive football mood, leaving viewers uneasy and, in some cases, downright horrified.
3. 84 Lumber “The Journey Begins” (2017)
This politically charged ad definitely didn’t age well. Produced by a top building supply brand, the dramatic narrative followed a mother and daughter crossing the border, focusing less on lumber and more on immigration.
Airing just months after Trump’s inauguration in 2016, 84 Lumber may have failed to read the room, but the media didn’t. Fox refused to air the full version, prompting discussions over where marketing ends and political messaging begins. The CEO later confirmed she supports Trump’s proposed border wall with Mexico.
4. PETA “Last Longer” (2016)
NSFW? Try NSFSB. Animal rights group PETA focused on the carnal pleasures of one mammal in particular in its 2016 Super Bowl ad: humans. The commercial, titled “Last Longer,” featured split-screen sex scenes compared the libido of vegan vs. meat-eating couples (spoiler: the vegans won).
While some viewers found the ad funny, many were outraged by the sexual innuendo used to promote veganism. CBS ultimately blocked the steamy spot from airing on Super Bowl Sunday.
5. General Motors “Robot Suicide” (2007)
A sentient robot may feel more plausible today than it did in 2007, but using suicide as an advertising hook hasn’t aged any better. Set to “All by Myself,” GM’s dark commercial shows a robot fired from the company before leaping off a bridge. What was meant to be darkly humorous came off as deeply unsettling, and the automaker’s attempt to highlight its commitment to quality backfired.
Mental health organizations including the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the National Alliance on Mental Illness publicly condemned the ad, with NAMI calling it “recklessly irresponsible.”
6. Tim Tebow “Focus on the Family” (2010)
Should there be a separation between the church and the stadium? After the backlash to Tim Tebow’s Super Bowl XLIV commercial, funded by conservative Christian group Focus on the Family, the answer seems to be yes. The ad features Tebow’s mother, Pam, who claims she turned down medical advice regarding an abortion, calling her son a “miracle baby.”
The spot drew sharp criticism for promoting pro-life, religious philosophies in the mainstream media, with groups like the National Organization of Women and the Feminist Majority protesting CBS for airing it. In the end, CBS ran the commercial, but it ignited a debate over religion, politics, and marketing on America’s biggest stage.
7. Groupon “Tibet” (2011)
Groupon wanted to sell curry, but its Tibet commercial sold controversy instead. In its 2011 Super Bowl ad starring Timothy Hutton, the company used the crisis in Tibet as a punchline for purchasing online coupons. The spot starts off showcasing Tibetan culture, with a voiceover adding that the country is in trouble, before cutting to Hutton in a Tibetan restaurant lightheartedly admitting they “still whip up an amazing fish curry,”—which customers could get a discount on through Groupon. Many viewers and critics condemned the commercial, saying the company had crossed a line between humor and exploitation.
8. Anthropic “AI vs ChatGPT” (2026)
The battle of robots isn’t quite what we imagined. To promote its AI tool Claude Opus 4.6, Anthropic went old school and poked fun at a rival. The commercial riffs on OpenAI’s decision to add ads to ChatGPT with a personal trainer skit, complete with a robotic voice delivering an unsolicited ad when a user requests a workout plan. By focusing on satirizing a competitor rather than the AI assistant itself, the ad sparked debate over whether the tactic was fair play. Even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman weighed in, calling it “funny” but “dishonest.”