The Super Bowl has never been just about the sport. And it has equally not just been about the big-budget halftime entertainment. It is also about those TV advertisements. Brands pay mega bucks to get their message across during the commercial breaks – paying US$8 million for a basic 30-second slot, before the creative process even begins.
This year, Oakley used Super Bowl LX to go big with its new smart glasses. The giant eyewear brand launched its HSTN and Vanguard camera glasses onto the market last year – but it was last night that it formally introduced the new products to the American people.
In an action-packed 60-second spot, we saw legendary NFL running back Marshawn Lynch jump off the back of a transport plane - with the Beast Mode asking Meta to run his music playlist through his Vanguard goggles as he skydives off the rear cargo door.
We then see YouTuber and stuntman iShowSpeed sprint along a runway to catch up and jump aboard a moving aircraft – seemingly using his Vanguards to capture the POV shot.
Above: the Oakley advertisement that was shown during Super Bowl 2026
Finally, we see legendary film director Spike Lee wearing his HSTN on a basketball court, and using voice control to turn his HSTN glasses to slow-motion mode (a new 120fps feature that Ray-Ban and Oakley added to its camera glasses via firmware just before Christmas).
It was adrenaline-pumping stuff – and perfect timing for the advertisement on the weekend when the Winter Olympics opened, where we see hundreds of competitors sporting their more traditional Oakley ski goggles.
But what upset me was the advertisement strongly implies that these glasses are capturing the action in the same widescreen format as the advertisement itself... Or at least I would expect the footage to be in a conventional landscape aspect ratio, such as 16:9.
But no, Oakley (and Ray-Ban) smart glasses actually capture your video in a weird upright 3:4 aspect ratio. Yes, upright video - but in a format that is not even compatible with TikTok.
I bought my HSTN glasses recently – and this fact was the biggest shock that I got when using them for the first time.
If Oakley aren't even explaining this when they get the showcase the tech to some 120 million people, in what has become the most-watched single-network event in broadcasting history, then others are only going to find out the truth when they actually buy a pair for themselves.
Read our full guide to the best camera glasses
