Jon Hamm Explains What Don Draper From 'Mad Men' Would Have Thought of His Ritz Super Bowl Ad (Exclusive)

In 2026, Jon Hamm, Scarlett Johansson, and Bowen Yang starred in the "Ritz Island" commercial that will air during Super Bowl LX. Since Big Game ads often become iconic, many people want to know how to watch the commercials and the Super Bowl this year. Men's Journal spoke with Hamm about his role in this year's "Ritz Island" ad and asked what he thinks his Mad Men character, Don Draper, would make of it.

Jon Hamm Thinks Don Draper from 'Mad Men' Would Respect His Ritz Ad, But Wouldn't Have Produced It

Men’s Journal: After watching your Ritz ad, my first question for you is, are you actually a salty guy?

Jon Hamm: I think I'm as salty as the next person. I think I've earned my saltitude over the course of my 54 years on the planet. I do kind of have resting cranky face, I think sometimes. So I think maybe that has something to do with it, but I'm a pretty happy guy actually. Yeah, I used to have people, when I used to wait tables, people would always come up to me and be like, “Is everything okay?”

Men’s Journal: Having watched the commercial, the thing that radiated off of it is that it seemed like you were having fun when you were filming it. Was it as fun a process as it comes across?

It's fun. I remember seeing the first iteration of this with Michael Shannon and Aubrey Plaza, and I was like, "Well, that's pretty good casting too." It was just a super fun, funny idea. It was really fun to be a part of. Part of it is working with people that you know. So that was cool.

I had known Bowen for some time, but I just hosted Saturday Night Live and had seen Scarlett there, and I'd seen Scarlett at the 50th. So, there was so much shorthand and easy recognizable looseness there that it's fun. I mean, honestly, it reads in any kind of filming environment when you're making, whether it's a show or a commercial or something, but especially in a commercial, because your time is so condensed that if you have a built-in relationship there, it actually makes it a lot easier.

It was a tremendous amount of fun. And, you know, whenever you get to go and spend a day on a tropical island in the middle of the winter, even though that island is manufactured in a soundstage in Studio City, it's still pretty fun.

Men’s Journal: Wait, so that wasn't real?

Jon Hamm: Exactly. No, they didn't ship us to the South Pacific, unfortunately. Next year, maybe.

Men’s Journal: What made you want to do a Ritz ad other than the fact that you mentioned that you enjoyed the previous commercial? I'm a huge Ritz fan myself. So for me, I could sign on just for that. But, what made you want to do it?

Jon Hamm: Listen, me too. I mean, I love a Ritz. It's a go-to if I see it there. But part of it is just being involved with any of the commercials for the Big Game, as they say. They've become their own must-see TV in certain ways.

I'm currently up in Canada, right now, shooting a new show called American Hostage in Winnipeg, Canada, where it's very, very cold. It's funny because when you watch the Big Game up here, you don't get the American commercials. So it cuts away and you're like, “Oh no. I wanted to see that. And the last couple of times I was up here watching it, I had to go to the recap sites the next day and see which ones that I would have liked to have seen.

It makes the whole thing what it has become in American culture. Just this moment that everybody gathers around the TV and eats a ton of food and drinks and has a good time and pays attention to the commercials, which is kind of fun.

No other sport does that. It's not like they do it in the Stanley Cup. Maybe the World Cup, but they don't really do it. It's because the Big Game is a one-of thing. You know, the World Series is a series. For the Big Game, there's, this is just one day, one night only. And that's what makes it super special and fun.

Men’s Journal: My last question is, what do you think Don Draper would think of this Ritz commercial?

Jon Hamm: Don was less of a funny guy and more of a cerebral advertising guy. But, I think he would appreciate it for what it is. It certainly grabs the attention, certainly features the product right up front, and makes a statement. I think it probably would have been more of a Peggy ad, honestly, maybe a Peggy and Stan joint. But, I think it has become, the proof's in the pudding, or in this case, the proof is in the cracker. The success of the campaign is obvious, so I'm happy to be a part of season two, as it were.