It’s been a couple of years since we wrote about the Super Bowl. By the end of today, the world will be over it - ala Jaguar commentary, so we’re getting in early.
Managing a big in-person, in-office team (those golden, olden days), we used to make an event of it—gathering in the boardroom with Super Bowl-themed food: hotdogs, corn chips, ready to watch...
Never the game. Only the ads. It was a great day. And it’s important. There is a lot to be taken from the “Big Game”.
The truth is, we’ve never watched the Super Bowl in its entirety—but we study the ads every year. Because they are, as always, something of a litmus test for the world as it stands. A reflection of the time we’re living in—cultural signals, societal shifts, and the wider media landscape in real-time.
First up, what is always most jaw-dropping about Super Bowl advertising is the eye-watering cost of placement. This year, that jumped yet again—$8 million for a 30-second spot, up $1 million from last year. And no, that doesn’t include production.
At a time when overall advertising revenue is down across the board, it’s impressive that Super Bowl advertising still holds its value—in fact, it’s increasing. And big expensive celebrated (human) directors get to unleash their creativity for all to see - all is not lost, perhaps?
The value is high, in theory, because of the rarity of such opportunities—to reach so many at one time, enjoying a shared experience (just like that event with our team back in the day). Media consumption is increasingly fragmented, the Super Bowl brings a mass audience together at one moment - you have the potential to reach 120 million+ viewers in the US alone with just one in-game spot. Looking at it that way, the investment starts to make sense. One-third of viewers say they watch primarily for the commercials. We’re one of them. Then, we talk about it afterwards. Like this. It all adds up.
Live sports and major news events have always had this pull. Those spikes on the viewing charts we studied for so many years—they’re all sports or news events. Nothing draws people to the telly more so than a tsunami or other deadly event. (Sadly). News events (natural disasters, political moments) are unpredictable, of course, and can’t usually be planned for. The Super Bowl is a guaranteed moment on the calendar. Brands can plan for it, invest in it, and maximize its potential. And they do. And today, it’s not just about the spot play—it’s about the lead-up, the conversation, and the tail: the amplification that follows. A brand can generate millions of views via social and valuable global press before the ad break even begins. Some of the ads we checked prior to game day were already in the millions of views on YouTube. An awesome opportunity if planned well. And the Super Bowl advertisers didn’t come to play (literally). They know what they are doing. Apart from the Jeep commercial (more on that) - most of the big spots were released online earlier to build that reach well ahead of kick-off.
Coors Light played the long game with "Case of the Mondays," teasing the concept weeks in advance with Monday-heavy media buys and billboards featuring intentionally misspelled words. The online furore over the spelling mistakes hit us weeks ago. Hellman’s When Harry Met Sally clever remake—“I’ll have what she’s having”—was released online in January and talked about for weeks leading up to the game, generating loads of share of voice for the brand.
As usual, this year’s ads leaned on the tried-and-true Super Bowl formula with big celebrity endorsements at the heart of many. But perhaps slightly less. David Beckham, Snoop, Matt Damon—they were all there. David Beckham is helping Stella Artois re-position and involvement extends well beyond the spot. Harrison Ford appeared in a two-minute commercial (film) for Jeep - (Even though his name is... Ford. Genius!) This media strategy broke with the trend and was held back until game time - going for a strong spike in talk rather than a slow build. Fast and the Furious stars Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez took a minute to slow down for Häagen-Dazs with “Not So Fast, Not So Furious”. Genius copy and talent. Love that.
NZ-founded, very special agency "Special" did what they do best—pairing big celebrities with strong ideas. This time, it was Uber (who advertised in the Super Bowl for the fifth year in a row) and Matthew McConaughey with Charli XCX, and Martha Stewart on a journey through time, food and football. Matthew appeared again to promote Salesforce’s AI-driven Agentforce - which, even in NZ, we’ve been hit hard on all summer - consider awareness built.
The Super Bowl reminds us that the world moves quickly. Startups, challengers, and bold ideas were there—clearly backing themselves confidently given the level of investment. The Super Bowl is an incredibly effective launchpad and brand builder, with the $8 million price tag just one piece of a much larger amplification strategy. The absence of large global brands (banks, automotive, and others) was noticed by some but left room for disruptors, of which there were many—rising fintech brands (NerdWallet, Papaya Global, Rocket Mortgage), food delivery (DoorDash, Uber Eats, Instacart), and a suite of AI-centric offerings.
Big viewing moments like this are awesome. The ads are great, the airtime expensive, the creativity as good as it gets - and it brings people together.
But, with all the innovation and future focus, some things never change: chips, tacos, beer, and soda still dominate our Super Bowl - albeit they might be lower alcohol, delivered to our door, and ordered with the help of AI.
Maybe next year we’ll finally get our hovercrafts.
PS: Kendrick was awesome. And his own lead-up buzz (will he, won’t he sing those lyrics?) didn’t hurt either.
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