Super Bowl Sunday: D&AD Sports Entertainment judge Jonathan Santana on his newest commercial for Volkswagen and his favourite spots of all time

At first glance, Johannes Leonardo’s new Super Bowl spot for Volkswagen could be just an ad promoting the joy of life – people dancing in the rain, playing catch with their dog, lying in the grass with friends, set to House of Pain’s Jump Around – instead of a car commercial. The ad agency didn’t use any of the usual “car commercial” tropes and focused on raw human emotion instead. We spoke to CCO Jonathan Santana, who led this project, to ask what the thinking was behind the ad, what his favourite Super Bowl spots of all time are, and, of course, what he’s most looking forward to when he joins us this May as a judge for D&AD’s first-ever Sports Entertainment category at D&AD Awards 2026.

D&AD: Tell us about your new Super Bowl spot for Volkswagen that aired this weekend. Was there a particular challenge you had to overcome to get it made?

JS: This year, we’ve brought back Volkswagen’s ‘Drivers wanted’ platform. However, this isn’t a nostalgia play. We aren’t interested in just looking in the rearview mirror.

The spot, titled "The Great Invitation," is a 2026 evolution of that 90s rallying cry. Set to House of Pain’s Jump Around, it’s designed to be kinetic and human. In a world where we’re led by algorithms, we wanted to celebrate the act of living life in the driver’s seat – of being an active participant in your own life. Directed by Leigh Powis, and shot on film, it gave it that tactile, lived-in texture that you just can't manufacture digitally.

The biggest hurdle was honestly the weight of the legacy. When you touch a line like ‘Drivers wanted’ – one of the most iconic platforms in advertising history – you’re basically walking into a cathedral. We had to make this feel urgent for a new generation. Balancing the irreverent, "wink-and-a-nod" energy of the original 90s work with the modern, optimistic spirit of today's VW. So, we obsessed over the authenticity. We avoided over-polished "car commercial" tropes and leaned into real people and raw moments. In a night filled with celebrity cameos, CGI and AI spectacles, our challenge was to see if a simple, human invitation could still cut through the noise. We believe it does.

D&AD: What was the first Super Bowl commercial you worked on, and what did you learn from it?

JS: My first real experience on the Super Bowl stage was the Stella Artois "Change Up the Usual" campaign. We brought together two of cinema’s most iconic characters – Carrie Bradshaw and The Dude – and had them famously trade their signature orders—a Cosmopolitan and a White Russian – for a Stella.

I learned that a celebrity cameo is only as good as the behaviour it’s trying to change. It isn't enough to just show a famous face; you have to use them to disrupt a cultural habit. It taught me that to truly cut through on Super Bowl Sunday, you must be bold enough to subvert expectations.

D&AD: What are some of your favourite Super Bowl spots of all time?

JS: When looking at the history of the Super Bowl, there are a few moments that really shifted the tectonic plates of the industry. For me, it has to start with Apple’s "1984." It’s the seminal piece of film that proved a single 60-second window could define a brand’s soul for decades. It was cinematic, brave, and didn’t even show the product—a massive gamble that changed the culture forever.

I also have to point to the Tide "Stain" ad from 2008. It’s a masterclass in simplicity. You have a guy in a job interview being completely drowned out by a talking stain on his shirt. It was such a visceral, funny, and relatable way to dramatise a product benefit without over-complicating the narrative. It proved that you don't always need a $10 million spectacle; sometimes, a single, sharp human insight is enough to steal the show.

Then, there are the ones that just become part of the vernacular, like the Budweiser "Whassup?" spots. They were simple, lo-fi, and based on such a strong human insight that they moved beyond the screen and into everyday life. They remind you that while the Super Bowl is a stage for high-end cinema, sometimes the most disruptive thing you can do is just be human and a little bit weird.

D&AD: What was your favourite from this weekend?

JS: My favourite from this weekend has to be Squarespace. They’ve built this incredible streak of working with proper auteurs, and reuniting Emma Stone with Yorgos Lanthimos for "Unavailable" was just brilliant. It felt less like a commercial and more like a high-concept short film. It took a very common, frustrating digital experience and made it feel operatic.

I also have to give an honourable mention to Apple Music for the Bad Bunny halftime show. If we’re talking about things that actually got people participating, that was it. Whether you were dancing in your living room, debating the set design, or even if you were one of the people "hating" on the cultural shift it represented – you were engaged. It was vibrant, inclusive, and felt like a massive moment of representation that the Super Bowl hasn't seen in that specific way before. It wasn't just a performance; it was a conversation starter, and in this industry, that’s the ultimate goal.

D&AD: Is there anything happening in your industry in relation to sports entertainment that you think D&AD’s audience might find interesting?

JS: One of the most exciting shifts right now is the death of the "passive" sports fan. We’re seeing a massive move from broadcast-first to participation-first ecosystems.

An example of this "participation-first" shift is actually something we worked on at Johannes Leonardo: the Oscar Mayer Wienie 500. If you want to see how the line between "commercial" and "sports entertainment" is completely dissolving, this is it. We didn’t just make a spot about hot dogs; we created a legitimate racing event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway where all six of the brand’s iconic Wienermobiles compete head-to-head.

D&AD: How excited are you to judge the new Sports Entertainment category this year, and what are you most looking forward to?

JS: It’s a huge honour. D&AD has always been the "North Star" for craft, and judging the new Sports Entertainment category feels like being given a front-row seat to the future of our industry. This isn't just about "sports ads" – it’s about the convergence of culture, competition, and fan participation.

D&AD: What will you be looking for in D&AD award-winning work in this new category?

JS: I’ll be looking for work that understands sports fans aren’t just a "target audience" – they’re a community. I want to be surprised by ideas that move beyond D&AD awards the screen, turning a game into a playground and the viewer into an active participant. Work that has both the visceral "punch" of a live event and the meticulous craft that earns a D&AD Pencil.

D&AD Awards 2026 is open for entries now. Enter our new Sports Entertainment category that celebrates branded and brand-funded sports entertainment that people feel compelled to watch, seek out and share to win a D&AD Pencil.