The Super Bowl Swift

This year’s Super Bowl promises to be one of the most anticipated games of recent years.  With the hype of the Kansas City Chiefs returning to the field and 8-time Grammy winner Usher taking to the stage, the television ads have had to be equally as exciting. Sin City will undoubtedly prove to be the perfect venue for this epic event!

If last year was dubbed the “Crypto Bowl”, this year could easily be touted as the “Super Bowl Swift”.  Speaking of Taylor, to say that she has disrupted the National Football League is an understatement.  The NFL has reported having its best female viewership in more than 20 years. According to various reports, viewership has surged by 53% amongst girls aged 12-17 and 34% in women over 35 years of age.

Suffice it to say, that game-day viewership is expected to surpass the previous record of 115 million fans who watched in 2023. According to Advertising Age, CBS sold out ad space in early November of last year even though the ad cost inched to $7 million. Based on the recent ad teases and early ad releases here is what you can expect from Super Bowl XVIII spots:

Slap Stick Humor:

As a rule, consumers expect to see funny ads, as they see them as a means of escapism. Marketers have always used a humor appeal to engage and connect us to their brands during the Super Bowl. That said, this year’s ads seem to be humor on steroids. We should expect to see many more humorous ads than in years past.

This year Bud Light tries to recover from lagging sales following the controversy with Dylan Mulvaney with a funny spot called “Easy Night Out”. Their new ad features Peyton Manning, Post Malone, and Dana White, who are more likable and trustworthy.  The ad has a lighter tone and is scheduled to run in the third quarter. Although we will see a few brands that are taking a more serious tone.  For example, Hellmann’s Mayo’s “Taste, Not Waste” is back for the third year. Budweiser also has a campaign called “Six Degrees of Bud” that should resonate with consumers.

What’s New:

Marketers of health and beauty brands are riding the Swift wave. We will see more female celebrities and brands that target women. For example, brands like Dove, Elf, and NYX have ads.

Other newcomers are Popeyes, Etsy, and Drumstick.  There is also a new Microsoft ad that leverages the power of Artificial Intelligence with the use of a chatbot. This is their first Super Bowl ad in four years.  I am not sure exactly how it works but I am very curious to learn more and will download it. Although so far there don’t seem to be many high-tech campaigns this year.

What I love the most though is the clever collaboration between Apple and Usher. Earlier this week Apple announced the release of a collection of exclusive music content from the singer. He is even in a few spots, and one of course is with Apple. He goes “missing” in a teaser ad with Apple CEO Tim Cook and a few of his celebrity friends like Little John, Ludacris, and Taraji P. Henson. Rumor has it that they may accompany him on stage during the Apple Music Halftime show.  I will have a front-row seat on Sunday to see how this brilliant marketing campaign all unfolds.

Who’s Returning:

The usual snack brands will have more than their share of ads.  However, I am excited to see that Budweiser brought back the Clydesdales and Labradors. These animals are heartwarming and cute. Coor’s Light is bringing back its iconic Silver Bullet train after a hiatus of more than a decade.

What’s Missing:

We will see fewer political ads even though we are in the middle of a political campaign. In contrast, billions were spent on ads during the last presidential campaign. For the first time in 23 years, we won’t see the Big Four automakers. They have opted to leverage other platforms for consumer engagement.  One would speculate that the United Auto Workers Union’s historic strike influenced this decision. Even though the Big Four is bowing out of the Super Bowl, we can expect to see spots for Kia and BMW. Volkswagen is also back for the first time in more than 10 years. Surprisingly, Go Daddy is a no-show too.

The first Super Bowl ad aired back in 1967 but viewing habits have changed since then. With Gen Z no longer opting for traditional broadcasting, building the case for buying Super Bowl Ads continues to be debatable. However, with a captive audience, the investment for many national brands almost seems to be a no-brainer.

Super Bowl ads are a cultural phenomenon, and I don’t see interest waning any time soon.  However, I think we will start to see more brands leveraging social media or using an integrated marketing communications plan that leverages multiple platforms to maximize their ROI. Either way, if there is a Super Bowl there will always be consumers looking to share a laugh with family and friends, eat wings, and of course, watch those funny ads.