Brand Bowl 2026: The Brands To Watch
On February 8th, we sang along with Coinbase, hung out with sitcom favorites at Dunkin’, and laughed with “Justaguy” Guy Fieri. Which Super Bowl LX commercials stuck with you?
The Harris Poll’s QuestBrand released the sixth annual Brand Bowl report to measure the Big Game’s impact on advertising brands. For the first time, the report includes cultural relevance data from Harris QuestRQ, our always-on reputation tracker. A quick peek inside the report shows:
**High entertainment value:**84% of viewers agree that Super Bowl ads are more entertaining than regular advertising.
A hot platform for emerging brands: 61% of viewers learned about new products or services from the ads.
Visibility drives purchases: One in five viewers took or planned purchase-related action after watching a commercial.
An event with growing international appeal: 26% of people in the U.K. report increased interest in the Super Bowl over the past five years. (QuestDIY)
Justin Pincus quote
Ready to check out the ad rankings? Download Brand Bowl 2026 to discover the top advertising brands by growth in ad recall, familiarity, momentum, quality, consideration, emotional attributes, and cultural relevance.
See How the Ads Performed
Staff to Storytellers: Employees Are The Best Brand Advocates For Business
With the growth of social media, work talk no longer stays around the water cooler. Employees have entered a new role – the most believable narrators of what a company is really like. Our new report uses Harris Poll data to explore how businesses can engage employees as authentic “brand ambassadors.”
**We want to hear from the employees:**49% of U.S. adults say posts from non-executive employees feel authentic when they talk about the company (compared to just 12% of executive posts).
**Employee posts can really payoff:**U.S. adults say they are more likely to apply to a company (74%) or buy from/support a company (70%) after seeing real employee experiences.
**A large, untapped base of ambassadors:**64% of employed adults say they’ve rarely or never posted about their current employer, job, or industry.
Staff to storytellers graphic
Takeaway: Businesses have long been concerned that negative employee comments could harm their reputation. Our data shows the opposite – most employee posts boost brand perception. Download the full report for a playbook on how businesses can support their employees into becoming authentic brand ambassadors.
Download the Report
These Brands Are Heating Up With Young Adults
What brands are gaining popularity with young adults? Recently, Ad Age partnered with The Harris Poll’s QuestBrand to rank the top 20 brands by quarter-over-quarter brand equity growth among Millennials and Gen Z adults.
Do the top growth brands from Q3 to Q4 2025 surprise you?
Brand tracker rankings
On Beats’ top ranking among Millennials: “Holiday gifting drove demand. Beats elevated the decision by framing the product as a companion to creative grind and aspiration rather than a technical comparison. New hardware plus cultural storytelling turned a gift into an aspirational marker.” – Justin Pincus, Managing Director at HarrisQuest
See the Full Millennial Brand Tracker
On Shopify’s brand equity gains with Gen Z: “Gen Z is increasingly wary of mass marketplaces and opaque retail algorithms. In Q4, the Shop App offered a different model. Discovery felt intentional and direct, allowing shoppers to find and support independent brands without being routed through big-box retail layers.” – Justin Pincus, Managing Director at HarrisQuest
Check Out the Top 20 Gen Z Brands
Recent Retirees Regret How They Saved For Retirement
Sleeping in, traveling the world…retirement is a milestone that many employees excitedly anticipate. However, retirees may be in for a stressful shock if retirement is not carefully planned for. A recent Harris Poll study for the Nationwide Retirement Institute finds that more than half (55%) of recent retirees have regrets about how they planned for retirement.
Living the good life?: 41% of financial advisors say that their retired clients find it challenging to maintain their desired lifestyle within budget constraints.
**Most retirees must adjust their plans:**Less than half (40%) of recent retirees say they’re on track with their original budget and decumulation plan.
Plan on periodic reviews: 56% of advisors say their recently retired clients review their portfolio and financial plan at least monthly.
Nationwide survey data
Takeaway: “Many recent retirees told us they wish they had saved differently, highlighting a critical truth: retirement planning isn’t just about setting a number—it’s about building a strategy that anticipates life’s changes and regularly revisiting that plan as life happens.” - Kevin Jestice, President of Nationwide Retirement Solutions
Dive deeper into these findings in Plan Adviser and 401K Specialist.
Dig Into the Data
Subscribe for more Insights
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest trends in business, politics, culture, and more.