Super Bowl LX Brings Celebrity Reunions and a Fresh Wave of Nostalgia

Celebrity-packed Super Bowl ads aren’t new, but for Super Bowl LX, some brands are leaning into something even more familiar: Cast reunions that tap directly into pop-culture memory.

That strategy builds on an already star-heavy trend. According to iSpot, 68% of last year's Super Bowl ads featured at least one celebrity, and more than half (51%) included multiple celebrities. This year, brands are raising the stakes by pairing ensemble casts with nostalgia-driven storytelling.

Dunkin', Uber Eats, and Xfinity are among the brands embracing this “celebrity reunion” approach. Dunkin brings together Friends co-stars Matt LeBlanc and Jennifer Aniston, alongside Ben Affleck and Jason Alexander, creating a crossover moment that blends sitcom nostalgia with Dunkin’s long-running Affleck-led ad universe. The Uber Eats ad stars Bradley Cooper and Matthew McConaughey, with McConaughey's Dazed and Confused co-star Parker Posey chiming in at one point.

Xfinity goes the farthest with this trend, imagining a playful “what if?” scenario for Jurassic Park: What if the dinosaurs never escaped? The spot reunites original stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum for a reimagined, wholesome vacation. At one point, Neill even remarks, "That salt scrub made me feel 33 years younger," a nod to (almost) how long it's been since the original film came out.

And in a different type of reunion, T-Mobile's Big Game ad will star The Backstreet Boys.

Nostalgia itself has a long history in Super Bowl advertising, though its prominence has fluctuated. According to iSpot data, nostalgia played a larger role in the early 2010s, before declining between 2017 and 2021. Since then, it has rebounded to near pre-2017 levels, appearing in roughly 30% of ads. In 2025, 26% of Super Bowl ads included nostalgic elements, suggesting that familiar faces and throwback storytelling are once again central to Big Game marketing.

For Super Bowl LX, the strategy is clear: When brands combine star power with shared cultural memories, they’re betting that recognition plus emotional resonance can cut through the noise of an increasingly crowded celebrity ad landscape.