Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Everyone watches the Super Bowl, but for media veterans it has come to be seen as an almost sacred experience in a world of advancing atomization and linear decline.
Amid declining ratings and crumbling business models, last year's edition recorded the largest viewership of any TV event in history with 115.1 million viewers (albeit with the caveat of revised Nielsen methodology). This year's matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and the Taylor Swift-powered Kansas City Chiefs could somehow make the big game even bigger. On the corporate front, it will undoubtedly provide a morale boost at Paramount Global, which will rake in hundreds of millions of much-needed dollars from the telecast as questions arise about its future.
As ratings remain huge, advertising prices for the Super Bowl have continued to rise. Paramount said last November that it had “virtually sold out” of its inventory, with the price of up to $7 million for a 30-second spot setting a new record.
“In an on-demand world where there is so much cable TV and streaming, this is still the best opportunity to engage an audience,” Matt Sweeney, chief investment officer of GroupM US, said in an interview with Deadline. “It’s that moment when people are sitting around a giant flat-screen TV, and a powerful part of the cultural moment is advertising.”
Such is the hunger for a piece of the moment that as the playoff field dwindled to the final four, some automakers were putting out feelers about whether it was possible to muscle their way into the big game, insiders told Deadline. (Had the Detroit Lions managed to stop the 49ers in the NFC Championship, it would have been the team's first Super Bowl appearance.)
On that note, there has also been talk of the scenario where a marketer wanting to reach the Swifties arrives with a last-minute purchase, although that or the Detroit scenario would require the NFL to sign off on the creation of a new slot. “It might be worth talking about it and trying to figure it out,” an executive in the sales trenches tells Deadline. However, given the sensitivity of advertisers who secured positions months ago, a change in the lineup seems unlikely.
An ad for Doritos appears on the side of the Luxor Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip ahead of Super Bowl LVIII. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The type of inventory available to advertising buyers has evolved in the age of streaming and alternative television programming. This year's primary coverage on CBS will also stream on Paramount+, and an alternative, family-oriented show is planned for Nickelodeon, repeating a previous show with lots of dripping green slime graphics on the screen and other enhancements.
A person familiar with the sales process told Deadline that Paramount secured 15 exclusive buyers who chose to be present only on the Nick show. Those slots were opened up in part because cable networks won't be able to pick up more adult offerings from CBS in categories like beer and sports betting. Some advertisers, including Ally Financial, choose to publish news only on the Paramount+ stream. “That $7 million isn’t for everyone,” notes a source.
TelevisaUnivision, meanwhile, will broadcast and stream the game in Spanish, with a selection of exclusive commercials aimed at Hispanic audiences. Flagship broadcaster Univision will give the game a larger viewership than previous Spanish-language Super Bowl broadcasts on ESPN Deportes.
With the NFL accounting for 93 of the 100 most-watched TV programs in 2023, according to Nielsen, the Super Bowl is a throwback to water coolers that resonates across a variety of advertising categories. The usual brands like Anheuser-Busch, Pepsi and major automakers will be present again, albeit with a handful of fresher faces.
Celebrity endorsements, long a preferred option for brands, have surged in recent years due to a number of factors. So far, teasers and trailers leading up to Super Bowl LVIII have featured Arnold Schwarzenegger (State Farm), Tina Fey (Booking.com), Kate MacKinnon (Hellman's) and many more.
A study by advertising tracking firm iSpot found that the share of Super Bowl ads featuring celebrities rose from less than a third of all ads in 2010 to two-thirds in 2023. (See table below.)
“Brands need to consider not only the cost of showcasing the talent, but also brand fit and the potential for unexpected and potentially unflattering news,” iSpot wrote in a recent report. “However, there is nothing like celebrity – when done right – to increase the breakthrough, engagement and memorability of an ad.”
The number of ads featuring female celebrities has increased even more since 2010, rising from 7% to 44% last year.
“With the NFL (and Taylor Swift) working hard to expand the league's audience across all age groups and particularly include women, the rise of female celebrities will be something to watch in 2024,” the analysis continued. “Although the presence of women has improved, historically the main dialogue in fewer than 25% of ads has been led by women.”
A key incentive for brands to tie themselves to celebrities is the greater reach of ads. Unlike years ago, when the attention boost came on match day and then in the linear flights that followed, media consumers today receive a steady stream of teasers, clips and snippets and often the entire advertising itself in the run-up to Super Sunday. A buyer doesn't expect this that the strategy changes. “Pre-advertising has become as important as the ad itself, especially given the importance of social media,” he said.
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