Former Anheuser-Busch executive Anson Frericks joins ‘Mornings with Maria’ to break down the Super Bowl commercials that resonated with American consumers.
Activist sportswear brand XX-XY Athletics saw a year-old ad explode into viewership Super Bowl weekendwhich tripled sales compared to a normal weekend for the brand.
The “real girls rock” ad, which premiered in February 2025, was the brand’s second full-length commercial and initially gained attention when it was shared on social media by “Harry Potter” author and women’s rights activist JK Rowling.
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XX-XY Athletics Instagram Ad (XX-XY Athletics on Instagram)
But last weekend, founder Jennifer Sey and company decided to recirculate the ad, and it went viral again, raising the total number of combined views on
Sey, a former Levi’s marketing executive and U.S. champion women’s gymnast, mentioned Sen. Sen. Ted CruzR-Texas, for being one of the figures who recirculated the ad during its viral resurgence.
The ad itself portrays the brand’s ambassadors, who stood up for women’s sports, faced vulgar hate comments and witnessed liberal media smear them as “transphobic.” It featured performances by OuKick host Riley Gaines and former University of Nevada volleyball player Sia Liilii.
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Sia Liilii appears in XX-XY Athletics’ “Real Girls Rock” advertisement. (Courtesy of XX-XY Athletics / FOXBusiness)
“It’s the proudest I’ve ever done in my life,” Sey said. “I’ve done a lot of ads in my life, I was Chief Marketing Officer at Levi’s for eight years, I’ve done Super Bowl ads… but this is definitely the one I’m most proud of. I think the message resonates so deeply and I think it really moves people to stand up for this cause.”
Despite the company’s rapid growth since launching in 2024, Sey said she has no ambitions to ever run any of her ads during the Super Bowl, stressing that the prestige of getting that time slot has diminished.
“I think the prestige of Super Bowl ads is a thing of the past,” Sey said. “I don’t think anyone cares anymore. I think people are leaving the room to get food. I don’t think people are tuning in to the ads anymore. And from a business perspective, I don’t know how you can generate a positive return if it just costs $10 million to secure the medium.”
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Sey was particularly critical of the quality of this year’s Super Bowl ads.
“They just trusted that they were going to put as many celebrities in the ad as possible,” Sey said. “That doesn’t really work.”
