Ten Super Bowl ads stand out for promoting gender equality, from Always's "Like A Girl" in 2015 to Nike's "So Win" in 2025. Women were almost half of the 108 million people who watched the 2018 Super Bowl, yet only about a quarter of Super Bowl ads have starred women, according to NBC News. This list covers each ad in order of airing, what it did and what made it work.
By EPR Research. Originally published March 2022. Updated October 20, 2026.
The ten ads share one pattern: each pairs a specific message about women with a named person, a measurable commitment or a clear product tie.
The ten ads below are listed in the order they aired, from the 2015 foundation of the category to Nike's 2025 return to the game.
Always's "Like A Girl" turned a common put-down into a statement about strength. The Procter & Gamble spot aired on February 1, 2015 and reframed the phrase "like a girl" as a positive. It grew out of a 2014 campaign, so the Super Bowl airing amplified a conversation that was already running. One Muse by Clios writer called it one of the few commercials that can quiet a room during the game.
Audi's "Daughter" put the gender pay gap in front of a Super Bowl audience in plain terms. A Muse by Clios writer called it the first time she remembered the pay gap discussed so directly in a Super Bowl spot. The ad also ranked third in USA Today's top commercials that year, according to the University of Utah's Eccles School.
Stella Artois used Sarah Jessica Parker to flip the Cosmopolitan-drinking lead character from Sex and the City, with Parker ordering a Stella Artois instead. The spot challenged the beer-industry habit of marketing to women separately.
Toyota's RAV4 Hybrid spot explicitly challenged gender stereotypes by featuring Toni Harris, then a defensive back at East Los Angeles College and the first female non-kicker to receive a four-year college football scholarship. The tagline "We're driving for one too" tied her story to the product.
Bumble's first Super Bowl ad starred Serena Williams and told women to make the first move. It was part of a year-long campaign with Williams, and it matched the app's product premise that women start the conversation.
Olay cast Lilly Singh, Busy Philipps and retired astronaut Nicole Stott, with Taraji P. Henson delivering the line "When we make space for women, we make space for everyone." The spot nodded to the first all-female spacewalk and gave $1 to Girls Who Code for every tweet using the hashtag #MakeSpaceForWomen, according to Stylist.
Microsoft's spot centered on Katie Sowers, the San Francisco 49ers assistant coach who became the first woman and first openly gay person to coach in a Super Bowl. The ad used a real history-making moment instead of an invented scenario.
Michelob Ultra used an even gender split of athlete ambassadors in its ad and linked it to a $100 million pledge to increase the visibility of women in sports. The pledge gave the creative a measurable commitment behind it.
Dove's ad focused on the body confidence issues many young girls face and how they affect girls' involvement in athletics. It moved the category from celebrating elite female athletes to the barriers that keep girls out of sport.
Nike's "So Win" was its first Super Bowl commercial since 1998. It featured Caitlin Clark, A'ja Wilson, Sabrina Ionescu, Jordan Chiles, Sha'Carri Richardson, Aryna Sabalenka and other Nike athletes, with Doechii narrating a list of the double standards women athletes hear before ending on "So win." Reviews were mixed: Deseret News reported that some critics questioned how the ad fit with Nike's past treatment of pregnant athletes.
The table shows the year, brand and central message of each ad.
| # | Year | Brand and ad | Central message |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2015 | Always, "Like A Girl" | Reclaiming a put-down |
| 2 | 2017 | Audi, "Daughter" | The gender pay gap |
| 3 | 2018 | Stella Artois, "Change Up the Usual" | Women as beer drinkers |
| 4 | 2019 | Toyota, "Toni Harris" | Women in football |
| 5 | 2019 | Bumble, "The Ball Is in Her Court" | Women make the first move |
| 6 | 2020 | Olay, "Make Space for Women" | Women in STEM |
| 7 | 2020 | Microsoft, "Be the One" | First woman to coach in a Super Bowl |
| 8 | 2020 | Michelob Ultra | Visibility of women in sports |
| 9 | 2025 | Dove | Girls' body confidence and sport |
| 10 | 2025 | Nike, "So Win" | Double standards for women athletes |
A gender-equality Super Bowl ad works when the message is backed by something specific, because a casting choice alone reads as a gesture. EPR's reading of the ten ads is that four features recur.
Brand investment in women's sports has grown since 2020. A Sports Innovation Lab survey found that 82% of brands planned to increase their women's sports budget in 2025, as Adweek reported.
Nike's "Dream Crazier," narrated by Serena Williams, is often grouped with these ads but first aired during the 2019 Oscars, not the Super Bowl. It belongs to the same Nike platform as the 2025 "So Win" spot, which is why the two are easy to confuse.
Always's "Like A Girl" is the foundational case. It aired during Super Bowl XLIX on February 1, 2015 and reframed "like a girl" as a positive.
Audi's "Daughter" in 2017 put the gender pay gap in front of the Super Bowl audience in plain terms.
Microsoft's "Be the One" in 2020 featured Katie Sowers, the 49ers assistant coach who became the first woman and first openly gay person to coach in a Super Bowl.
Yes. Nike's "So Win" aired during Super Bowl LIX in 2025, its first Super Bowl commercial since 1998.
EPR's reading is that authentic ads pair a named person, a stated commitment and a product tie, and that they continue past the broadcast instead of ending when the game does.
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