NEW YORK CITY, USA — Creative agency VCCP published the report “Cracking the Memory Code: Super Bowl Edition”, exploring the science of memorability and advertising in the Super Bowl Ads from the past decade. With Super Bowl LIX nearing, data show that advertising in 2025 for the annual sporting event has reached record-breaking heights, costing up to $8 million for just 30 seconds of viewer attention.
The study examined the most memorable Super Bowl ads in the past years and dived into the key levers of memory used by advertising agencies to launch memorable ads.
Created in partnership with leading behavioral science consultancy, Cowry Consulting, Cracking the Memory Code: Super Bowl Edition tested 1000 people to see which Super Bowl ads in the past ten years they remember; whether they could name the brand in the ad; and what it is that they could recall from the ad.
VCCP and Cowry Consulting tested the ads using two scientific techniques for memory encoding – a recognition and recall test to understand how embedded the ads are in people’s memories and an implicit response test to understand the complexity of emotional responses to the ads.
The report found the following as the most memorable Super Bowl ads from the past decade:
“The Super Bowl is the biggest night in advertising with more than 123 million people tuning in to not only watch the big game with excitement, but to watch the commercials as well. It’s a massive opportunity but also a massive investment for brands. With this report, we wanted to give marketers some insight into the science behind how memory works, as well as some of the levers of memory that they can use to increase their share of mind,” VCCP US Head of Strategy Martin Coomber said.
Cracking the Memory Code: Super Bowl Edition is a continuation of VCCP’s report from 2024 Cracking the Memory Code which looked at the science of memory and how marketers can ensure their brands are remembered, how to get their brand noticed in the first place, and more importantly, how to ensure brands are recalled at the shelf, search engine and till. The report revealed how memories are formed, the levers of memory, and what it means for marketers looking to increase their share of mind.
These key levers of memory that were found to help make an ad memorable include humor, characters, emotion, sonic devices, and surprise.
Meanwhile, Cowry Consulting MD Raphy March emphasized that understanding the intricacies of how memories are formed allowed them to craft marketing strategies that not only capture attention but also endure in the minds of consumers.
“This method is a first for how we test ads. The research highlights the importance of consistency, emotional engagement, and creating distinctive brand worlds. By leveraging these insights, brands can significantly enhance their memorability and ensure their messages resonate long after the initial exposure,” Raphy added.
Established in 2015, Cowry Consulting, a member of VCCP Group, is a pioneering and award-winning behavioural science consultancy, on a mission to make businesses as human as humanly possible.
