In NFL football, the Los Angeles Rams take on the Cincinnati Bengals in the 56th Super Bowl on Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. But for many people, much of the show will be on the commercials side.
This year, Super Bowl advertisers want viewers to forget about pandemic issues and focus on the future, including ads for electric vehicles, robots, the future and cryptocurrency.
Others will rather evoke the nostalgic past of films from the 1990s such as Austin Powers and The Cable Guy.
“Marketers recognize that Americans have had a very tough time for the past two years, and they’re responding by bringing some good, old-fashioned entertainment for Super Bowl Sunday,” said Kimberly Whitler, a marketing professor at the University. of Virginia.
The American television network NBC quickly sold its advertising space during the Super Bowl which attracts tens of millions of viewers. A 30-second ad sold for US$7 million, up from US$6.5 million the previous year.
Super Bowl viewership has been declining in recent years, however. In 2021, 92 million people tuned in to the Super Bowl, according to Nielsen, the lowest viewership since 2007.
The sporting event is not alone in suffering such a fate as viewership for other major live events, such as the Grammys and Oscars, has also plummeted.
Ratings for the Olympics — which NBC airs at the same time as the Super Bowl — are also below par, but the Super Bowl remains the biggest night for advertisers.
This year’s announcements will be fun and warm, a bit like TV series that rely on comedy.
“Ads, like the sitcom, are light. It’s funny, positive and makes you happy, but it doesn’t go overboard,” explained marketing professor Charles Taylor, of Villanova University in Pennsylvania.
For example, the car manufacturer BMW will cast Arnold Schwarzenegger as Zeus, the supreme god of Greek mythology, whose main attribute was lightning. His wife Salma Hayek gives him a BMW iX electric vehicle to add spice to his retirement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxXrtoZh6_k
Another giant, Amazon, will feature a couple (Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost) whose intelligent personal assistant Alexa can read their thoughts.
Facebook will preview its vision for a virtual world in a humorous ad that shows a stray animatronic dog reuniting with his friends in the metaverse.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcmAlpIp3oM
Beer lovers will notably see ads on the Bud Light NEXT and among some thirty new advertisers there will be talk of cryptocurrency exchanges.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rGOf_caxhQ
The Super Bowl can be a great place to launch a new brand or product, but advertisers have a big task with just 30 seconds to grab the public’s attention.
“They need to educate the public about what their product is, why it’s safe and where they can access it,” Taylor said.
Nostalgia is always a good way to entice the audience.
Incidentally, telecommunications company Verizon has hinted that it is bringing back Jim Carrey in his obnoxious persona. Cable Guy of 1996 for their announcement.
GM tapped Mike Myers for an “Austin Powers” themed ad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoqiQtc79CQ
It’s nothing new to spot celebrities in Super Bowl commercials, but this year they’ll be everywhere.
“I have never seen so many,” acknowledged Professor Charles Taylor.
Uber Eats has particularly relied on this in its ads.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri-rXPw5Cnk
In Canada, it is not possible to see the advertisements of the American channel NBC live since it is the Canadian advertisements which must be shown by the Canadian networks during the broadcast of the Super Bowl, unless the American companies also buy advertising time in Canada for this popular sporting event.
However, popular American Super Bowl advertisements are generally available on the Internet.