South Africa, Feb. 10 -- Brands airing Super Bowl ads have a lot riding on their investments - roughly $7m for a 30-second spot for the 2025 big game. So there's a lot of pressure to get things right.

In my advertising classes, I often tell students that a commercial that's controversial or disliked in the moment shouldn't necessarily be considered a failure. In fact, enragement drives engagement. So if one of the goals of advertising is to keep the brand top of mind for consumers, a hated Super Bowl ad still accomplishes at least one goal. Think of the now-infamous Pepsi ad where Kendall Jenner "solves racism" with a can of Pepsi. Or all those raunchy GoDaddy ads that everyone rolled their eyes at, but the company kept running, year aft...