Super Bowl Ads Get Diverse But Hollywood's Whiteness Dominates Star Power, LGBTQ Visibility Dips

Shifting Tones: Super Bowl Ads Embrace Broader Representation

The curtain has fallen on Super Bowl LX advertising, revealing a fascinating, and somewhat contradictory, snapshot of corporate America’s evolving priorities. Based on initial analyses shared by @Adweek on Feb 12, 2026 · 2:30 PM UTC, the on-screen casting strategy took a discernible step toward reflecting a more diverse America in the general population of the ads. A headline metric confirms this shift: 68% of commercials featured diverse racial or ethnic groups, marking a significant jump from the 57% reported during the 2025 game. This quantitative improvement suggests that marketers are responding, at least superficially, to widespread societal demands for better representation in mainstream media visibility.

However, this positive statistical shift in background casting immediately bumps up against a persistent and jarring reality: the A-list celebrity talent remained overwhelmingly homogeneous. While the extras and ensemble casts showed an encouraging breadth of representation, the true, bankable star power—the faces commanding millions of viewers' attention—continued to favor established, predominantly white Hollywood figures. This creates a compelling dichotomy: corporations appear willing to populate their commercial worlds with diversity, yet hesitant to place their significant financial bets on non-traditional, diverse spokespersons. This raises immediate questions about where advertisers draw the line between modern progressive signaling and perceived commercial safety.

Persistent Star Power: Hollywood's White Dominance in Celebrity Casting

When we move the microscope from the general cast to the highly compensated celebrity endorsers, the narrative of progress falters considerably. A deeper examination of the racial makeup of the paid celebrity talent revealed a stubborn adherence to traditional Hollywood power structures. While the overall ad count benefited from diverse cameos and background actors, the primary conduits of the commercial message were overwhelmingly familiar, predominantly white A-listers.

This contrast is perhaps the most telling finding of the 2026 ad cycle: the chasm between the diversity seen in the set dressing versus the diversity among the highest-paid talent.

The reliance on established, primarily white Hollywood figures for commercial bankability speaks volumes about advertiser risk aversion. For the highest-stakes, highest-cost advertising slots of the year, brands appear to be defaulting to known quantities whose mainstream appeal they deem safest, even when their overall commercial portfolio touts wider demographic inclusion. Is using a recognizable white megastar a tacit admission that they still hold the most perceived cultural currency, regardless of shifting audience demographics?

A Step Backward: Declining Visibility for the LGBTQ+ Community

If racial diversity showed improvement in one area while stalling in another, the trend for the LGBTQ+ community represented a clear regression. For the second consecutive year, overt representation for this community saw a decline in Super Bowl commercials. This signals a noticeable retreat from the tentative inclusions seen in prior years, a puzzling development given the intense focus on corporate social responsibility messaging outside of the broadcast window.

Tracking the specific markers of representation revealed where this dip occurred. Reports indicate a reduction in ads featuring clearly identifiable same-sex couples or utilizing visibly non-binary talent in prominent roles. This isn't merely about counting faces; it’s about narrative inclusion. When corporations spend millions to reach a national audience during this cultural touchstone, the choice to reduce LGBTQ+ narratives suggests that progress on this front is far more fragile than previously assumed.

The implications of this retreat are significant. In a post-game environment where brands are often scrutinized for their broader political or social stances, dimming visibility during the Super Bowl—an event often hailed as a barometer for American culture—sends a confusing message. Does this signal a perceived cooling in the consumer appetite for such narratives, or is it a calculated corporate pullback from potentially polarizing messaging during a tightly controlled, high-stakes media buy?

Analysis: Superficial Diversity vs. Authentic Inclusion

The 2026 Super Bowl advertising slate appears to be a case study in superficial diversity overshadowing meaningful inclusion. The high percentage of ads featuring diverse racial or ethnic groups in the ensemble strongly suggests that advertisers have mastered the art of "checking boxes" on background casting. This fulfills a visual requirement for inclusivity without necessitating any difficult decisions regarding who gets the spotlight, the main dialogue, or the massive paycheck.

The core tension remains the push-and-pull between risk aversion and progressive messaging. Brands want the positive press associated with supporting diversity, but they simultaneously cling to the perceived safety net of established, legacy celebrities—who are overwhelmingly white—to guarantee immediate, broad-stroke appeal. This bifurcation means that while the setting of the commercial looks more like modern America, the leading roles still often do not. Authentic inclusion requires putting capital and face-time behind diverse voices, not just surrounding them with them.

Looking ahead to Super Bowl LXI, the challenge for advertisers will be reconciling these two competing data points. Will the industry acknowledge that leveraging diverse talent is not just a moral imperative but a genuine commercial opportunity that resonates beyond background extras? Or will the return to celebrity comfort zones continue to suppress genuine representation at the highest tiers? The success of the next advertising cycle will hinge on whether brands choose to move past visual window dressing and commit to inclusive casting where it truly counts: in the star power.

Source: Shared via X (formerly Twitter) by @Adweek on Feb 12, 2026 · 2:30 PM UTC. Link: https://x.com/Adweek/status/2021955067729842543