{"id":285715,"date":"2026-02-07T13:10:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T13:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/285715\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T13:10:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T13:10:12","slug":"the-most-controversial-super-bowl-ad-of-2025-is-back-for-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/285715\/","title":{"rendered":"The most controversial Super Bowl ad of 2025 is back for more"},"content":{"rendered":"

Super Bowl Sunday is the holy grail of advertising thanks to its massive viewership<\/a>, with an average of 127.7 million Americans<\/a> tuning in to the big game in 2025 alone. That same year, Hims & Hers became the first company to advertise GLP-1 weight loss medications during the Super Bowl \u2014 but it wasn\u2019t without controversy.<\/p>\n

The 60-second ad, called \u201cSick of the System,\u201d<\/a> targeted the \u201cbroken\u201d U.S. health care system and touted its more affordable compounded semaglutide as a solution to the obesity epidemic. The brand was accused of being \u201chypocritical\u201d and \u201cpreying on people\u201d while \u201cchasing profit\u201d and was even called a threat to public safety. But now the game has changed.<\/p>\n

Hims & Hers is rolling out a new Super Bowl ad<\/a> for its GLP-1s this year \u2014 and plenty of companies are joining it this time around. Ro<\/a>, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly<\/a> are all running Super Bowl ads for their weight loss medications, marking a big cultural shift from last year. While this isn\u2019t the first time these companies have advertised their GLP-1 products, it\u2019s the biggest stage they\u2019ll ever be on.<\/p>\n

Why GLP-1 ads will be all over the Super Bowl<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a reason why so many GLP-1 ads are coming your way on gameday. Nearly 1 in 8 American adults<\/a> have taken a GLP-1 medication, which is a class of drugs used to support weight loss, along with treating diabetes, heart disease and several other chronic medical conditions. Ozempic and Wegovy are GLP-1 medications, while Mounjaro and Zepbound are technically dual GLP-1 and GIP agonists (meaning, they act on two types of receptors in the body) \u2014 even though they\u2019re often lumped in with GLP-1s.<\/p>\n

The wave of Super Bowl ads promoting these products shows how normalized their use has become, Americus Reed<\/a>, professor of marketing at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, tells Yahoo. \u201cThere was some stigmatization around them before, but that is becoming less and less,\u201d he says. \u201cCelebrities and influencers have been open about using these products, and it creates a permission structure that these are OK.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doctors who prescribe these medications say the rise in advertising is largely a good thing. \u201cEvidence-based treatments of obesity are underutilized in America and around the world,\u201d David Sarwer<\/a>, director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University, tells Yahoo. \u201cIf the commercials lead to people thinking about using these medications to manage their weight and health, that is a very good result.\u201d<\/p>\n

With that in mind, here\u2019s what we know about the GLP-1 ads set to air this Super Bowl Sunday.<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s running GLP-1 ads for Super Bowl Sunday?<\/p>\n

Pretty much all of the big players in the weight loss drugs space will be running Super Bowl ads. That includes pharmaceutical companies promoting FDA-approved medications and brands that are selling cheaper, compounded versions that are technically not FDA-approved<\/a>. Each ad is slightly different \u2014 and at least one (from Eli Lilly) is currently a mystery. Here\u2019s what we know.<\/p>\n

Ro<\/p>\n

For its ad, Ro, which sells Wegovy, Zepbound and Ozempic, has partnered with tennis star Serena Williams, who revealed in 2025 that she takes a GLP-1 for weight loss. The ad will launch the brand\u2019s \u201cHealthier on Ro\u201d campaign<\/a>. (Ro, working with Novo Nordisk \u2014 the makers of Wegovy \u2014 launched an FDA-approved GLP-1 pill<\/a> in January.)<\/p>\n

In the spot, Williams shares that she\u2019s lost 34 pounds after a year on a GLP-1 medication and says her blood sugar is stable and that her knee joints are under less stress. \u201cI\u2019m moving better on Ro,\u201d she says in the ad. \u201cI\u2019m feeling better on Ro.\u201d In a recent Instagram post for Ro<\/a>, the athlete went into more details, sharing lab test results and saying that some of her health stats are even better than when she was playing tennis professionally. \u201cSince being on GLP-1s, my lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease has decreased by 19%,\u201d she says, adding that her total cholesterol levels have improved by 30%. \u201cI\u2019m not surprised at how good I feel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hims & Hers<\/p>\n

Hims & Hers, which sells compounded semaglutide that\u2019s not FDA-approved<\/a>, is back with another ad called \u201cRich People Live Longer\u201d \u2014 and based on the name alone, it will more than likely get people talking. It\u2019s narrated by rapper and actor Common and focuses on wealth disparities. Namely, how people in the top 1% of earners live an average of seven years longer than those in the bottom 50%.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll that money doesn\u2019t just buy more stuff. It buys more time,\u201d Common says in the ad. \u201cThe wealth gap is a health gap.\u201d The ad talks about the range of services Hims & Hers offers, including \u201cweight loss treatments that can be microdosed to fit your goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not the only buzz Hims & Hers is generating: It just launched its own compounded semaglutide pill<\/a> at $49 for the first month and $99 after, with the purchase of a five-month plan \u2014 that\u2019s $100 less<\/a> than Novo Nordisk\u2019s new Wegovy weight loss pill.<\/p>\n

Novo Nordisk<\/p>\n

The makers of Ozempic and Wegovy are leaning on a mix of star power and quirky humor to hype their products \u2014 more than likely their successful weight loss medications \u2014 on gameday. Novo Nordisk has shared several Super Bowl ad teasers on Instagram, which include DJ Khaled, along with actors Kenan Thompson, Ana Gasteyer, Danielle Brooks and Danny Trejo. Each online personality is featured in silly scenes \u2014 including one with a talking cat called Mr. Wiggles \u2014 along with a text overlay that says \u201c2.8.26\u201d in reference to Super Bowl Sunday. (The teasers on Instagram have since been taken down.)<\/p>\n

Eli Lilly<\/p>\n

Eli Lilly has confirmed <\/a>that it will run a Super Bowl ad to promote its weight loss medication Zepbound, but details are scarce. In a statement provided to Yahoo, the drugmaker says: “Eli Lilly will air a Zepbound advertisement during NBC\u2019s pre-game coverage and in-game on Peacock\u2019s streaming broadcast. With millions of people tuning in, the moment offers an opportunity to share information about an FDA-approved treatment that has become the no. 1 most prescribed weight management\u00a0medicine in the U.S.”<\/p>\n

In January, the company aired a 60-second commercial called \u201cMy Focus\u201d<\/a> that addressed the stigma surrounding obesity. The ad featured a young man sharing that he\u2019s been dieting since he was 12 years old. \u201cMy health is my focus,\u201d he says, \u201cand my body is nobody\u2019s business but mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Experts say these ads signal a cultural shift<\/p>\n

While GLP-1 medications have been available for years, they\u2019ve only recently exploded in popularity because of how effective they are at helping people lose weight. \u201cThese drugs have revolutionized weight management and, in many ways, diabetes management,\u201d Dr. Leonid Poretsky<\/a>, chief of endocrinology at Northwell\u2019s Lenox Hill Hospital, tells Yahoo.<\/p>\n

While some experts say commercials like these can help lessen the stigma of taking weight loss medications, others say it\u2019s not all good news. \u201cThe primary concern is the medicalization of appearance,\u201d Tony Yang<\/a>, professor of health policy at George Washington University, tells Yahoo. \u201cSuper Bowl advertising reaches beyond patients with BMI over 30 to anyone with aesthetic insecurity, fueling trends in microdosing and cosmetic weight management that divert drugs from metabolic necessity to vanity application.\u201d These drugs also aren\u2019t cheap, and that messaging is often lost in advertising, he adds.<\/p>\n

But the advertising is simply reflecting what\u2019s happening in medicine and pop culture, argues Dr. Mir Ali,<\/a> medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, Calif. \u201cPeople have become much more aware of these medications,\u201d he tells Yahoo. \u201cThey\u2019re not appropriate for everyone, but, for certain patients, it\u2019s a viable option. A lot of providers are encouraging people to take these medications.\u201d<\/p>\n