(Bloomberg) — Prices for Super Bowl ads have risen to a record of over $8 million, with sponsors purchasing around 10 of the most-expensive 30-second spots for the Feb. 9 broadcast on Fox.
Ad rates for the game, always the most-watched TV event in the US, are up from last year’s record $7 million, according to a person familiar with the matter. The Kansas City Chiefs will play the Philadelphia Eagles for the NFL title, with the Chiefs seeking their third straight win. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. New York time.
Fox Corp., which is also streaming the game on its free Tubi service, received steady interest from a variety of companies, and viewers should expect to see commercials from typical Super Bowl advertisers like snack, beer, tech, auto and financial companies, according to Mark Evans, executive vice president of sales at Fox Sports.
“As we’ve escalated price, it hasn’t really moved to scare anybody away,” Evans said in an interview.
While previous Super Bowls have earned nicknames like the “Crypto Bowl” for their abundance of spots from one particular industry, Evans said it doesn’t seem like that will be the case this year, though viewers will “see a little bit more AI-specific advertising, as that’s certainly infiltrating everybody’s world.”
He also noted that fans will see fewer movie trailers during this year’s game as studios and streamers have pulled back on Super Bowl advertising. The film and TV industry has been hard-hit by the pandemic, the 2023 actor and writer strikes, the decline of cable TV, and most recently the Los Angeles wildfires.
State Farm, a major insurer in California, pulled back from plans to advertise during the game, citing the January fires in the state.
The identity of the top-paying sponsors is a closely guarded secret. Some marketers buy multiple slots for commercials that run a minute or longer, boosting the tab.
Uber Eats, Bud Light and MSC Cruises have purchased 60-second spots for the New Orleans game, according to iSpot.tv Inc., an ad measurement company.
Sean Muller, chief executive officer and founder of iSpot, said the demand for Super Bowl ads makes sense. Last year’s game drew 123.4 million viewers, becoming the most-watched US broadcast ever.
“In this fragmented media world that we live in today, it’s super hard to get this level of audience all at once,” he said.
The match-up between the Chiefs and Eagles bodes well for advertisers, Muller said. The Chiefs are vying for an unprecedented third straight win, and the game is certain to attract fans of pop star Taylor Swift, who is dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Kendrick Lamar will be the halftime performer.
Fans should also expect to see a bevy of other celebrities and influencers in Super Bowl ads, according to Muller. In 2010, just 31% of Super bowl ads featured celebrities. But in 2024, 65% did, according to iSpot.
They should expect to see more humor than in recent years.
“Three or four years ago, we hit sort of a rock bottom where people were so worried about social issues and were so worried about not offending anybody that it almost became a little bit dry,” Muller said.
Kerry Benson, senior vice president of creative strategy at the marketing data firm Kantar, said early teasers for Super Bowl commercials are using all of these tactics to sell products.
She pointed to Meta Platforms Inc.’s decision to feature actors Chris Hemsworth and Chris Pratt in an ad about the company’s smart glasses. The web hosting company GoDaddy, which is known for racy Super Bowl commercials, is ending its eight-year hiatus from advertising during the big game and has a spot featuring actor Walton Goggins using the company’s services to build an online goggles shop.
An ad from Hellmann’s, the mayonnaise brand owned by Unilever, will feature actors Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan as they re-create their famous deli scene from the ’80s rom-com When Harry Met Sally, Benson said.
“They’re using everything that’s in the Super Bowl playbook,” Benson said. “They’re using humor, they’re using celebrities and they’re using nostalgia.”