On the evening of February 8, 2026, millions of Super Bowl viewers were jolted out of their halftime lull by something they’d never seen before: a high-octane, puzzle-laden commercial starring none other than YouTube phenom Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson. The 27-year-old creator, whose main channel boasts a staggering 466 million subscribers, used the world’s most coveted advertising stage to launch what may be the most ambitious—and lucrative—treasure hunt in Super Bowl history. The prize? A cool $1 million, locked away in a virtual vault, waiting for the first sharp-eyed fan who can crack a fiendishly complex code.
According to USA Today, the spot was anything but a traditional commercial. Instead of a slick narrative or a celebrity cameo hawking a product, viewers were thrust into a kinetic, creator-driven challenge. The 30-second ad opened with MrBeast’s signature bravado: “First person to solve the puzzle in my new Super Bowl ad wins $1,000,000! Good luck.” As he announced the prize, cryptic clues flashed across the screen—blink-and-you’ll-miss-them images like a spider, a sine wave, a bird on a wire, an elephant, and even the math symbol for 10 to the power of 5. The ad closed with a nudge to scan a QR code, urging viewers to take the next step online.
The campaign’s genesis, as reported by USA Today and Benzinga, was almost as unconventional as the ad itself. It started with a December 29, 2025, post from MrBeast on X (formerly Twitter), where he teased, “I’ve been sitting on an amazing Super Bowl commercial idea for years.” Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff quickly replied, and the wheels were set in motion. In a vlog-style pitch to Salesforce’s marketing team, MrBeast was given free rein—on two conditions: the commercial had to be legal and showcase Salesforce products. The result? A campaign that would turn the Super Bowl’s passive audience into active participants.
But this wasn’t just a stunt for attention. The ad was designed to spotlight Slackbot, the AI assistant embedded in Salesforce-owned Slack, which helps users find information, summarize conversations, and automate tasks. As Benzinga noted, this marks a departure from Salesforce’s previous Super Bowl efforts, which leaned on Hollywood stars like Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. This year, they bet big on Gen Z’s most recognizable digital face.
“I’ve always wanted to make a Super Bowl commercial and was psyched to hear that Marc and the Salesforce team were looking to do something groundbreaking,” MrBeast told USA Today. “They really trusted us, and I can’t wait to watch people race to solve it. We all use Slack at Beast Industries, so it was pretty cool to work with their team and make sure they had an epic spot for the big game.”
The ad’s production was a testament to the power—and speed—of AI. Salesforce’s Benioff explained, “We saw firsthand the power of AI in action as Slack helped us collaborate with MrBeast in 27 days instead of six months. Slackbot became our teammate, a coworker with agentic superpowers to instantly find any information needed and turn it into action.”
Once the ad aired, the real game began. Viewers were directed to a dedicated MrBeast page on the Salesforce website, where a FAQ outlined the rules for the "Million Dollar Puzzle." Entry was automatic—simply watching the ad put you in the running—but to claim the prize, fans had to dissect four different videos, follow their intuition about anything that seemed off, and, crucially, Slack MrBeast the correct code. If no one solved the puzzle within 24 hours, another clue would be released. After 48 hours, the site promised to “unleash some serious help.”
The puzzle, as described by the campaign, is “real, nonlinear, and interconnected,” designed to reward creativity, logic, and persistence. Clues weren’t confined to the commercial; they could pop up anywhere—on social media, in MrBeast’s other videos, or even during his February 6 appearance with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show. As the official landing page put it: “Your mission is to find the rest of the trail and crack the code.”
For Salesforce, this wasn’t just about selling Slackbot. As Adweek observed, the campaign was less an ad and more a “handoff of attention.” By anchoring its most expensive media buy to a creator-driven puzzle, Salesforce was betting that participation—not just eyeballs—was the new currency of brand engagement. MrBeast, with his uncanny knack for spawning viral challenges that blend capitalism and charity, was the perfect partner. In recent years, he’s made headlines for videos where contestants spend 100 days in an underground bunker for $500,000, or where he pays for 1,000 people to undergo cataract surgery. His Amazon Prime reality series, "Beast Games," is reportedly the most-watched unscripted show in Prime Video history, with 1,000 contestants vying for a $5 million prize.
Yet, as Adweek cautioned, there’s a risk in choosing intrigue over clarity. While the ad may win the post-game conversation—and dominate social media for weeks—some casual viewers might remember the challenge more than the brand behind it. Still, with MrBeast’s reach and the promise of a life-changing payday, Salesforce is likely to see a surge of interest not just in Slackbot, but in its own willingness to experiment with the boundaries of advertising.
By February 9, 2026, the buzz had only grown. Fans across the internet were sharing theories, dissecting each frame, and racing to be the first to crack the code. As promised, more clues were slated to drop if the puzzle remained unsolved, keeping the momentum alive well beyond the Super Bowl’s final whistle.
For MrBeast, it was a rite of passage into mainstream American celebrity—a Super Bowl spot that introduced him to millions who may never have watched a YouTube video. For Salesforce, it was a gamble on the future of advertising, one that turned the world’s biggest TV event into a sprawling, weeks-long digital treasure hunt.
Whether the $1 million vault is cracked in days or weeks, one thing is certain: the line between entertainment, advertising, and interactive gaming has never been blurrier—or more exciting.