Super Bowl Marketing: Stats and Trends for 2023

The Super Bowl. Isn't it great when the...let me look at my notes...halfbacks do a touch goal. 

Okay, okay. So we all know we're not watching the Super Bowl for the sports. I'm not even that big a fan of baseball, or whatever. We're actually here for the adverts. From Bugs Bunny selling sneakers, to Darth Vader selling Volkswagens, the biggest brands come out in full force. That's a Star Wars pun for you there.  

So, it's a huge opportunity for marketers to stick in the minds of consumers for the rest of the year. But what do the numbers look like? How much do marketers really earn back from their efforts? Do viewers even really care anymore? Well, you'll have to read on to find out. 

Consumer behaviour and the Super Bowl

  • 49% of Viewers use multiple screens to follow the Big Game
  • 69% use a second screen—typically a mobile device or laptop—after seeing an ad to find more information on a product or service.
  • Fans of this year’s big game will predominantly watch on streaming platforms (47%), cable (41%) or over-the-air TV (36%).
  • While most people care about the game itself, the survey found 42% tune in specifically to enjoy the advertisements. In fact, 50% of viewers have purchased a product or service based on one of these commercials.
  • When viewers want to learn more about a product or service advertised on TV, they use a second screen to explore a brand’s website or app (34%), via a search engine (30%) or by visiting an ecommerce site (19%).
  • This is especially apparent when consumers view live sports. Individuals use two (30%) or even three or more (19%) screens while watching football to simultaneously use social media (45%), view another game (39%), or check statistics and box scores (34%).
  • TV Still Reigns With Big Game viewing. Most consumers (59%) will watch the game on their TV. Some will use their mobile device (16%), laptop (13%) or tablet (12%).
  • Consumers are divided on whether or not they’d like to buy products and services with their TV remote. Just over one-third (38%) are interested in this, 35% are not, and 30% might, depending on the product or service.
  • The rate in 2020 for a 30 second advertising slot was also 12% higher than 2018. A big reason why this could be happening is the increasing use of streaming platforms, which means that more people are able to watch it in the most comfortable way for them.

Social media and the Super Bowl

  • Over half (57%) of people post and monitor social media platforms while watching sports, typically using Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
  • Of the 41% of people who view early releases of big game ads, most do so on YouTube (32%), social media (27%) or through mainstream media (19%).

Advertising spend and the Super Bowl 

  • The Super Bowl LV in 2021, the average cost for ad space reached $5.6 million on average for a 30-second slot, maintaining the same cost that was registered during the Super Bowl LIV in 2020, and almost double the cost in 2010 – $2.7 million.
  • To put things into perspective, the average TV ad broadcasting costs for a 30-second slot can reach up to $115,000 for high-end production broadcasted nationally.
  • On the lower end of the spectrum, you could find a 30-second slot in a local TV for anywhere between $2,000 to $5,000depending on the CPM (cost-per-thousand impressions).
  • A 30-second slot during the 2021 edition reached a whopping 5.6 million dollars. In comparison, the first commercial ever to air on a Super Bowl was just $37,500 back in 1967.

Year

Price for 30 sec.

Year

Price for 30 sec.

1967

$37,500

2016

$4,500,000

1968

$54,500

2017

$5,000,000

1969 

$55,000

2018

$5,200,000

1970

$78,200

2019

$5,300,000

1971

$72,500

2020

$5,500,000

1972

$86,100

2021

$5,600,000

 

  • The most expensive Super Bowl commercial in the events’ history was $16.8 million. During the Super Bowl in 2020, Google and Amazon both spent this amount for a 90-second ad slot to promote their competing virtual assistants Alexa and Google Assistant.
  • Companies spent a total of 449 million dollars on in-game advertising during the big game in 2020. However, according to Kantar initial estimates, 2021 was a record breaking year, driving the whopping $485 million in revenue.
  • The rate of $5.6 million per 30-second slot represents a 6.7% increase compared to the rate in 2020 – $5.25 million.

Commercials and the Super Bowl 

  • Although it varies each year, the average number of commercials during the Super Bowl is 70.
  • However, it has been decreasing gradually over the years, with 64 ads in 2021, 70 ads in 2020, and 91 ads in 2019. 2021 registered a -29% decrease compared to the number of ads in 2019.
  • There are approximately 50 minutes on average during the Super Bowl event. In 2020, total ad time amounted to 46 minutes from 70 ads, increasing from 41 minutes in 2019.
  • Most commercials during the Super Bowl have an average duration of 30 seconds. There are some variations, of course, including companies going as high as 120 seconds or as little as 15 seconds.
  • The largest advertising purchase was recorded in 2019 during the Super Bowl LIII, when the brewing company Anheuser-Busch bought 8 commercials in total. This consisted of a 60-second slot, four 45-second slots, and three 30-second slots, for a speculated price of a whopping $25 million.
  • In comparison, the runner-up, Procter & Gamble, spent 11 million less than that on commercials aired during the telecast.
  • According to CNBC, considering the fact that 30-second ad spots costed about 5 million dollars during the Super Bowl in 2018, they could have easily spent upwards of $25 million for the total purchase
  • Research by Unruly calculated that Super Bowl ads will be 150% more likely to make people laugh than traditional commercials.
  •  In 2021, advertisers had to pay an average of 5.6 million U.S. dollars to air a 30-second long commercial during the Super Bowl LV broadcast.
  • The advertising landscape during the Super Bowl in the past year has been fairly steady, with numbers of ads oscillating roughly between 80 and 100, and total advertising time around 50 minutes.
  • In 2020, 70 commercials were shown during the Super Bowl broadcast, amounting to a total ad time of 46 minutes. The majority of TV commercials airing during the Super Bowl are 30 seconds long

Audience and viewer numbers and the Super Bowl

  • In 2021, the Super Bowl was watched by 91.6 million people – which, despite being a 15-year low, is still expected to be one of the most watched TV shows this year.

Average advertising cost the super bowl

  • The most watched Super Bowl ad online was Alexa’s Body by Amazon, registering a total of 120 million views across online channels, of which 78 million views on YouTube alone. It aired in 2020, and the advertising slot cost Amazon $16.8 million.
  • During a December 2020 survey in the United States, some 59 percent of respondents stated that funny advertisements were their favourite type of Super Bowl ad.
  • Bruno Mars performed the halftime show at the 2014 Super Bowl, which was won convincingly by the Seattle Seahawks. Mars' set, which also featured the Red Hot Chili Peppers, had a favourability rating of 59 percent among respondents to an online survey in the United States in January 2021.

Consumer Purchases and the Super Bowl

  • During a January 2021 survey in the United States, 22% of respondents stated that the commercials were the most important part of the Super Bowl.
  • The statistic depicts the consumer spending in the United States related to the Super Bowl weekend from 2007 (Super Bowl XLI) to 2021 (Super Bowl LV). It is estimated that a total of 13.9 billion U.S. dollars will be spent by consumers in the United States on Super Bowl related purchases in 2021.
  • These purchases include, for example, food and beverages, game-related merchandise, other apparel, decorations and televisions.
  • Food and beverages are the most popular purchases made by people who plan on watching the Super Bowl. The showpiece event is consistently one of the most-watched television broadcasts of the year, with consumers across the United States spending an average of 74.55 U.S. dollars on Super Bowl Sunday.
  • Adults in the United States planned on spending an average of $74.55 on Super Bowl Sunday, with food and beverage purchases the most common among those who plan on watching the game.

This post is part of our Martech stats series, which compiles key data and trends. Others include: