The Super Bowl might be one of the most-watched sporting events of the year — but some just tune in for the commercials.
Big-budget advertisements shown during breaks in the game are often one of the biggest draws of the evening, and this year appears to be no exception.
Several ad spots have already dropped, including Oscar-winner Adrien Brody starring in an ad for TurboTax, Sabrina Carpenter appearing in an ad for Pringles, and Andy Samberg and Elle Fanning leading a Hellman’s commercial.
The excitement of the game combined with the anticipation of the halftime show — being headlined this year by Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny — reveal just a few reasons why companies choose to spend money on a Super Bowl commercial.
Why do companies want to advertise at the Super Bowl?
Because of how many people watch the event every year — last year’s game had an estimated audience of 127.7 million — the Super Bowl has become the holy grail for advertisers.
“Even though a Super Bowl advertising campaign might not pay immediately in hard dollars and cents, if a business can afford to produce one of these stellar spots, they stand to earn new customers and build awareness on a scale unmatched by other outlets,” Peter Koeppel, founder and president of marketing agency Koeppel Direct, said in 2019.
“Good or bad, though, impactful Super Bowl ads are the ones that are getting talked about. What a marketer can’t afford is an ad that completely fails to deliver. Because the Super Bowl is also sort of a Super Bowl of marketing, the competition is fierce – the commercials have to be memorable for them to pay off in the long run.
“An ad that doesn’t give viewers something, for better or worse, won’t be a profitable one,” he continued.
What kind of brands get Super Bowl commercials and what are the rules?
Brands were ready for the massive turnout, as NBC revealed that it sold out its ad inventory in September.
This year, Super Bowl LX will be on NBC and streaming on Peacock, Hulu + Live TV, Tubi, YouTube TV, NFL +. According to Mike Marshall, head of global advertising for NBCUniversal, 10 percent of this year’s commercials went to advertisers. Those spots were sold at a discount rate to air on Peacock compared to broadcast ads. The average slot is typically limited to 30 seconds
However, the 30-second limit hasn’t stopped brands from bending the rules before. Back in 2021, Reddit spent its entire ad budget on the shortest-ever Super Bowl commercial.
The social media and news platform’s commercial lasted for just five seconds and urged viewers to pause their TVs to read it.
How much do Super Bowl ads cost this year?
The price of ad spots in this year’s Super Bowl went for $8 million, and a “handful” of brands paid up to $10 million, according to Marshall.
Marshall said this year’s ads will largely come from the technology, pharmaceutical and wellness industries.
Super Bowl LX will be played February 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
