Is The Super Bowl Ad Investment Still Worth It? Industry Experts Weigh In

Welcome to another edition of Brand and Demand 3.0, a Continuum series in which we invite industry leaders to offer their insight on cultural moments, events, trends, and ideas that matter to brands and marketers. As always, we aim to bridge the gap between top-of-funnel brand awareness and day-to-day performance marketing.

Each year, the Super Bowl presents an alluring opportunity for brands to engage with millions of viewers in a matter of minutes. As the excitement surrounding the game endures among dedicated sports fans, recent research suggests that the Super Bowl’s grip on advertising dominance may be waning. The likeability of advertisements has steadily decreased over recent years, and advertiser retention has dipped, with attrition rates surpassing 50%. Despite this, the cost to secure a spot hit record highs this year, with some brands investing up to $8 million for just 30 seconds of airtime.   

With this year’s Big Game in the rearview mirror, we spoke with several industry leaders to get their take on the evolving Super Bowl landscape. Specifically, we asked whether they believe brands are getting their money’s worth, what factors make this high-profile investment truly valuable, and whether the steep cost of a Super Bowl ad is justified in today’s media environment. We also encouraged leaders to reflect on this year’s stand-out ads and why these spots resonated with them. Here’s what they had to say:

Jason Dille, Chief Media Officer

Chemistry

A spot in the Super Bowl is a cachet investment, much like someone would buy a Rolex for prestige versus buying a Timex that provides the same utility. It is the only singular event that can reach such a significant number of consumers at one time, and that comes at a premium. It is also the only event where consumers create a commentary about the ads, and there is a social discussion about ads. Nobody makes a list of the top 5 ads from their recent streaming binge session. At Chemistry, we call it the Reaction Radius. Yes, your investment of $8M for a spot delivered a reach to 127 million people at once, but the ripple effects of exposure coming from the social commentary, articles, and features are a force multiplier.

Who got it right: Pringles & Little Caesars for pouncing on the opportunity to extend their Reaction Radius by addressing what everyone had on their mind…did two brands just do the same ad? Kudos to them for potentially preplanning that or for reacting to social commentary in real time.

Read the full article in The Continuum.