"You can't win. So win."

Nike, Dove and more brands go big with Super Bowl ads that leaned into emotional messages and...fitness.

Good morning! The Eagles really tortured my Chiefs in last night’s game, making it a tough one for me, as a Kansas City native, to watch. But to the rescue, a half-dozen commercials that were very much up my alley. Brands reportedly paid up to $8 million for a 30-second placement in the Super Bowl, so these are huge bets gobbling up marketing budgets. (They will, of course, optimize the content across all of their channels such as social, site and email.)

As always, some fell flat, some were extraordinary. But either way, the wellness girl in me absolutely loved the big swings by fitness brands—and non-health brands going wellness-y—because the storytelling was creative, emotional, and most of all, memorable.

Marketers at The Swoosh went back to the brand’s roots. Nike’s commercial featured some of their most accomplished female athletes, like Caitlin Clark, A’ja Wilson, and Sha’Carri Richardson. The anthem-style ad is definitely the influence of new CEO (and longtime Nike veteran) Ell…