Just last year, advertisers paid an average of 6.5 million U.S. dollars to air a 30-second long commercial during the Super Bowl LVI broadcast. As one of the biggest events in American, and as of late, global television, the Super Bowl is as well-known for the entertaining ad spots than they are for the game of football itself. But just how impactful are these ads?
We took a look at the winners from past years, as well as who is making noise before this year’s highly anticipated event.
Who won the Super Bowl ads in 2022?
Yes, the Los Angeles Rams did win the coveted Lombardi Trophy in 2022, but we’re talking about brands here. So, who made headlines, which publications spread the news, and what was the public sold on during this time? Let’s take a look.
As expected, the public embraced 2022 Super Bowl ads. As a whole, there were over 2M interactions on articles about the ads, and almost 20k articles published. Engagement peaked on Monday the 14th, the day after the Super Bowl, and quickly fell off immediately after. As beloved as Super Bowl ads are, it’s quite obvious they only hold the public’s attention for a certain amount of time.
Top headlines from the 2022 Super Bowl
In 2022, Budweiser was the belle of the ball. Their ad, featuring Clydesdales, was found three times in the top 10 articles about Super Bowl LVI. The top article, by Tampa Bay publisher Bay News 9, generated almost 100k interactions. Interestingly enough, Budweiser also came in the top article spot in 2021, but not for their commercial. The brand made headlines when they skipped their Super Bowl spot in favor of using their marketing funds to boost vaccine awareness. Based on their consistency, will they go three for three in the top spot this year? Time will tell.
The second “winner” in 2022 was from failed Pennsylvania Senate candidate David McCormick. His “Let’s Go Brandon” spot was popular amongst conservative publishers, garnering almost 105k total interactions across the top 10. Top publishers of this advertisement included The Daily Wire, Rumble, Western Journal, and Conservative Brief.
Typical top publishers took a backseat when it came to reporting on the 2022 spots. Other than Today, The New York Post, and Variety, we saw smaller, more local blogs and websites get a good deal of traction.
Top headlines from the 2023 (so far)
Though the game has yet to be played, brands plan their Super Bowl ads long before February comes around, and even drop hints to their ideas in the months before. We took a look at some brands who are finding that public engagement prior to the big game.
The top story so far comes from Buzzfeed, highlighting Tito’s Vodka “Dry January” campaign with Martha Stewart. Deemed a “Super Bowl worthy” commercial by much of the public, Stewart partnered with Tito’s to show the other great uses for vodka for those partaking in Dry January. The YouTube video already has over 600k views, and is sure to continue to grow before the Super Bowl.
Another brand that has found themselves in the spotlight is M&M’s. After Fox reporter Tucker Carlson deemed the brand “too woke” for changing the mascot characters footwear and featuring female M&M’s, the brand decided to take an indefinite pause from their “spokescandies,” instead choosing to replace them with Maya Rudolph. NBC News, The Wall Street Journal, Good Morning America, and Today all featured the story, totaling 34.4k article interactions. Rudolph will make her official debut as a spokesperson during the brand’s highly anticipated Super Bowl commercial.
The final brand making waves is PopCorners, as they’re set to reunite Breaking Bad co-stars Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston. Entertainment Weekly and Bustle reported the news, which has 6.6k total interactions so far. The cult classic television show has a band of loyal followers even a decade after its conclusion, and with Cranston and Paul set to briefly reprise their roles as Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, the commercial is sure to be a success.
Overall, it’s anyone’s game when it comes to finding advertising success during the Super Bowl. From beer to Brandon, any brand can create a compelling advertisement that gets the public talking. Due to their short nature and being easily forgotten, the real question is: which ones will be remembered?
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