• by Colin Kirkland , Yesterday

As a platform historically known as a hub for real-time conversation of live cultural events, X is attempting to stoke user engagement around this year’s Super Bowl ads with an AI-powered ad discussion tracker.

X’s “Brand Ranx” is designed to showcase the real-time rankings of Super Bowl ads, with xAI’s LLM Grok tracking “the most talked-about ads across four categories live throughout Super Bowl Sunday,” according to its dedicated mini site.

The competition among brands’ advertising output will be mapped throughout the Big Game, with winners being named for the most “positive” ad, the most talked-about ad, the ad with the most re-posts, and the “most disruptive” ad -- which is for the brand that stoked consumer attention without running a TV ad.

By clicking on the leaderboard listings, users will be taken to the particular brand’s X profile. Right now, over a week before the Super Bowl airs, Totino’s, Budweiser, and On Running are in the lead across Brand Ranx ad categories.

Over the past two years, X has tried to prioritize the NFL on its platform via a designated NFL content portal in attempts to win over professional sports fans and generate more in-app discussion around the league.

In 2024, internal data at the social media company showed that 56% of users on the platform were NFL fans, while about 40% of all posts about sports on X were about the NFL.

In addition, X is producing and airing “NFL Top 100,” an original short-form series made in partnership with NFL Films that highlights the league’s players throughout the preseason. According to Mitchell Smith, X’s head of original content, last year’s season of the show delivered 440 million impressions on X.