Squawk Pod: "Super Bowl Ads & GLP-1 Competition"

Date: February 9, 2026
Hosts: Becky Quick, Andrew Ross Sorkin
Featured Guests: Kevin Hassett (Director, National Economic Council), Dr. Scott Gottlieb (Former FDA Commissioner), Emily Wilkins (CNBC Reporter)

Episode Overview

The post-Super Bowl episode dives into the economic and cultural ripples of Super Bowl advertising, with a special focus on the boom in AI-related commercials. It also investigates escalating competition and legal maneuvering in the GLP-1/weight loss drug market, particularly the FDA and industry response to Hims & Hers' attempted entry. Additional segments cover Japan’s snap election, U.S. housing affordability legislation, AI’s productivity impact, and the potential for a government shutdown. Engaged discussion, sharp analysis, and memorable debates keep the tone both incisive and conversational.

Key Topics & Insights

1. The Monday After: Super Bowl Hangover & Economic Calendar

• Super Bowl and Work Attendance:

  • Super Bowl Monday is the most common day for work call-ins (03:00).
  • Next year, the Super Bowl coincides with Presidents’ Day, granting most workers a built-in holiday (17:38).

• Economic & Corporate Outlook:

  • Important upcoming releases:
    • January Jobs Report delayed to Wednesday by the government shutdown.
    • January CPI (inflation) data due Friday.
    • Earnings from Coca-Cola, Ford, McDonald’s, CVS, Airbnb, and Coinbase (03:05).

2. Super Bowl Advertising: The Era of AI

• General Sentiment:

  • Mixed reviews from hosts and their families—some found the ads lackluster (04:27), while Becky championed the Coinbase karaoke spot’s viral engagement.

• AI Takes Center Stage

  • "This was the first Super Bowl where people were really talking about AI in a real way." – Becky Quick (08:09)
  • Major tech companies (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Meta, Wix, GenSpark) invested heavily in ad time, vying to shape public perceptions of artificial intelligence.
  • Anthropic’s ads, mocking the idea of intrusive AI ads, were dubbed clever by Becky but sparked debate inside the AI industry, especially with OpenAI’s Sam Altman (07:26).
  • Amazon’s Alexa ad, starring Chris Hemsworth, took the idea of AI “domination” to absurdist and humorous places (08:17).

• Strategic Choices:

  • Becky noted OpenAI’s choice to target coders with its “Codex” ad, questioning if a broader ChatGPT appeal might have been more impactful (08:55).

• Memorable Non-Tech Ads:

  • Dunkin’ Donuts and heartwarming father-daughter chip ads still struck chords, proving classic emotional approaches remain effective (09:49).

3. Global Markets: Japan’s Snap Election

• Japan’s LDP, led by PM Sanae Takeichi, secured a supermajority, sending the Nikkei above 56,000—up 3.9%—and strengthening the yen (04:37).
• Reinforces continued confidence in Japan’s economic direction.

4. GLP-1 Drug Wars: Hims & Hers vs. Novo Nordisk

• Market Dynamics:

  • Hims & Hers announced it would pull a much cheaper, "copycat" oral weight-loss drug mimicking Novo’s pill (05:09).
  • Stock repercussions: Hims & Hers fell 16%, Novo spiked (05:48).
  • Possible behind-the-scenes settlement speculated by hosts (05:55).

• Super Bowl Ad Messaging:

  • Hims & Hers still ran a Super Bowl ad, using rapper Common to frame health inequality as tied to wealth disparity (06:30).

5. U.S. Housing Affordability: Congressional Hurdles

• Emily Wilkins breaks down bipartisan efforts to address the housing shortage via relaxed building regulations, encouragement for modular/manufactured homes, and grants for streamlined permitting (10:23).
• Senate and House bills largely overlap but are stymied by slow compromise—legislation likely won’t pass before midterms (12:09).
• Quotable Frustration:
  • "Even when you got both sides, everybody agrees… you can’t get it through the Congress and then passed into a law sooner?" – Andrew Ross Sorkin (11:51)
  • “A lot of lawmakers want to hold out for the more difficult things and that sometimes leads these bills being slowed down and held up.” – Emily Wilkins (14:41)

6. Productivity Boom, AI & the Labor Market (Kevin Hassett Interview 19:19—27:51)

Economic Ownership & Growth

• Who “Owns” the Economy?

  • “The president is the leader of the free world and he's the leader of the economy… There are some things that moved in the last couple of years that haven't recovered.” – Kevin Hassett (19:49)

• AI’s Effect on Productivity & Employment:

  • “There’s absolutely no question that we're in the biggest productivity boom that we've seen since the 90s… AI is making it so that every company… is finding that it's more productive." – Kevin Hassett (21:25)
  • Possible outcome: profits & GDP “skyrocket” while job creation lags, creating a tricky transition for workers displaced by automation (21:37).

• Worry Over Tech Market Volatility:

  • Weekly swings in big tech reflect existential anxiety over how fast AI might upend or consume segments of the software industry (22:49).

• Labor Market Signals:

  • Job openings are dropping as automation accelerates. Hassett sees strong GDP, but lower population growth and rising productivity may mean “slightly smaller job numbers… consistent with high GDP growth” (25:10).
  • "It's an unusual set of circumstances." – Kevin Hassett (26:17)

• Government Shutdown Fears:

  • Hassett minimizes risk, characterizing shutdown threat as “negotiating theater” (26:27):

    “People negotiate… say, 'Oh for sure I got to shut the thing down,' then they get like the museum for their grandma. That’s the state we’re in.” – Kevin Hassett (26:54)

7. GLP-1 Drugs & the FDA: Expert Breakdown (Dr. Scott Gottlieb Interview 30:08—39:47)

• The Regulatory Drama:

  • Hims & Hers' pill used a new “liposomal” oral delivery, presumably allowing absorption of a peptide drug typically delivered by injection (30:44).
  • "If that's true, then this is an unapproved new drug because it's using a new technology to try to get the oral absorption." – Dr. Scott Gottlieb (31:14)
  • The FDA took the unusual step of immediate DOJ referral, potentially signaling a push for an injunction or seizure (31:56).

• Policy Concerns & Market Integrity:

  • Gottlieb warns that without strict oversight, the approval process for drug safety is undermined:

    “If any company can operate under the guise of a pharmacy license, come up with completely novel formulations of drugs, and market them directly to consumers, why have a drug approval process?” (32:56)

• Industry Practices:

  • Hims & Hers painted as aggressive and risky compared to more compliant competitors like RO (33:19, 35:05).
  • Unlikely industry or regulators will trust Hims & Hers after this episode.

• Future Penalties & Lawsuits:

  • Potential for both criminal penalties and FTC consumer fraud actions. Shortly after the segment, Novo Nordisk announced a lawsuit to permanently block Hims & Hers’ compounded drugs (39:21).

8. Dr. Gottlieb’s Personal Vaccine Op-Ed (36:21—39:21)

• Gottlieb shares his own health history with EBV-induced lymphoma to illustrate dangers of vaccine skepticism:

  “A lot of viral infections, people recover…but in a lot of cases, they have long term sequelae. In my case, I developed a B cell lymphoma that was EBV positive, meaning if I never had the virus, I never would have gotten that cancer.” (36:49)

• He laments VC and industry reluctance to pursue new vaccines under current regulatory and social conditions.

Timestamps: Important Segments

• 03:05 | Economic/events rundown; Super Bowl ad reactions
• 04:37 | Japan election and market reaction
• 05:09–06:11 | “GLP-1 wars” break: Hims & Hers, Novo, Super Bowl ad
• 06:30–09:49 | Super Bowl Ad breakdown — heavy AI focus
• 10:23–15:12 | Housing affordability legislation — obstacles & slow progress
• 17:38 | Super Bowl Monday becoming a holiday
• 19:19–27:51 | Kevin Hassett interview: politics, AI, economy, jobs, shutdowns
• 30:08–39:47 | Dr. Scott Gottlieb interview — Hims & Hers FDA battle, industry practices, vaccine op-ed

Memorable Quotes

• On AI and the Super Bowl:
  “This was the first Super Bowl where people were really talking about AI in a real way.” — Becky Quick (08:09)

• On Drug Approval:
  “If any company can operate under the guise of a pharmacy license, come up with completely novel formulations of drugs, and market them directly to consumers, why have a drug approval process?” — Scott Gottlieb (32:56)

• On the Productivity Boom:
  “We're in the biggest productivity boom that we've seen since the 90s... the introduction of the Internet and the introduction of artificial intelligence are very similar in the ways they're affecting the data.” — Kevin Hassett (21:25)

• On Congressional Gridlock:
  “Even when you got both sides, everybody agrees… you can’t get it through the Congress and then passed into a law sooner?” — Andrew Ross Sorkin (11:51)

• On Lawmaker Negotiation:
  "People negotiate… say, 'Oh for sure I got to shut the thing down,' then they get like the museum for their grandma. That’s the state we’re in.” — Kevin Hassett (26:54)

Overall Tone & Takeaways

The episode oscillates between sharp skepticism and playful banter, mirroring both the cultural pulse of post-Super Bowl America and the anxieties of a rapidly changing economy. The enduring impact of AI (both real and hyped), the tumult in weight loss drug markets, and the frustrating slow churn of policy are all tackled head-on by hosts and guests. Real-world risks—even life-and-death stakes in health and employment—are rendered relatable by personal stories, wry commentary, and topical examples.

Anyone catching up on business, policy, and tech after the big game will find both news and context in ample, engaging supply.