The matchup for Super Bowl LVIII is set as the San Francisco 49ers playing the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m. On what has become known as Super Bowl Sunday, millions of viewers across the world will tune in to watch the big game. As television broadcasting has evolved, the Super Bowl has become more than a game.
Many companies take advantage of the number of Super Bowl viewers and go all-out to create the best advertisement they can to encourage new interest in the company. However, Super Bowl commercials come with a hefty price. According to Forbes, a 30-second Super Bowl commercial in 2023 cost around $7 million and that price will continue to increase. There are also more expenses within commercials including hiring celebrities to star in these ads.
Super Bowl commercials have now become the crown jewel of a company’s advertising efforts. I enjoy watching the various creative ways the ad’s creator will go all out to attract interest. I feel that there are three ways to draw attention: featuring celebrities, having an emotional impact, or something completely random.
The most common Super Bowl ads now feature celebrity guest appearances. While many commercials outside of the Super Bowl star celebrities too, extra steps of creativity are taken to maximize the celebrity’s presence. Squarespace in the past two years has featured Zendaya (2022), Andre 3000 (2022) and Adam Driver (2023). In 2021, State Farm, alongside its sponsored football players Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers, featured Drake. Celebrities can also have repeat appearances, with Bryan Cranston starring in multiple Super Bowl commercials, usually acting as Walter White from “Breaking Bad.”
While most commercials want to be funny to the viewers, some leave an emotional impact. Last year one commercial that stood out to me was the ad for the religious advertising campaign “He Gets Us”. In the commercial, many pictures of human conflict were shown with the song “Human” by Rag’n’Bone Man playing in the background. Another emotional ad from a while back was Google’s 2009 Super Bowl Commercial “Parisian Love”. Using various Google searches, it tells the story of a man falling in love with a French girl from far away who then decides to move to Paris, marry her and start a family.
Alongside featuring celebrities or having an emotional impact, some companies can do something completely random to engage viewer interest. A while back, Mountain Dew had one of the most famous or infamous (however the viewer interprets it) commercials with “Puppy Monkey Baby.” In 2019 and 2023, The Twilight Zone and Tubi, respectively, showed what looked like the game was resuming before faking out viewers into thinking the broadcast experienced technical difficulties.
What will be seen on the big game’s screen this year? Throughout the days leading up to Super Bowl LVIII, companies are now releasing their Super Bowl commercials or teaser trailers for it. Paramount Plus has recently released its Super Bowl commercial starring Miami Dolphins football player Tua Tagovailoa, actor Patrick Stewart and even Arnold from his cartoon “Hey Arnold!” among other cartoon characters and actors. Doritos has released teaser trailers for its commercial which will star actress Jenna Ortega. Other teasers or full releases will likely be unveiled throughout the week as well.
Normally, commercials are a moment to step away from the television, but Super Bowl commercials have kept all eyes on at all times. Aside from the game and halftime show, it has created many popular topics for discussion. There have been many fun and creative commercials that were showcased in past years. I’m sure that there will be many more memorable commercials this Super Bowl Sunday and for years to come.
