In 2021, the NFL accounted for 75 of the top 100 most-watched TV broadcasts. 19 more were live sports (Olympics and college sports), and the others were the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, “The Equalizer” after the Super Bowl, Oprah’s conversation with Meghan & Harry, and 60 Minutes after the Capitol riot, and Biden’s inauguration. As the highest-rated TV broadcast, there’s always a lot of eyes on the Super Bowl and its advertisers. The going rate for a :30 national TV spot is $6.5 million. This is up about $1 million from last year.
With such a captive audience, the network that airs the game will typically air a premiere of a show. Since the Olympics will also be on during that period, the post-game slot will actually go straight to a live broadcast of the games.
In the approaching weeks, some advertisers will start to drop trailers or teasers for what to expect in the actual game. Some that have been released so far are:
- Flamin’ Hot Cheetos x Megan Thee Stallion
- Lay’s Golden Grounds – they’ve made chips from the soil of NFL fields
- Sam’s Club feat. Kevin Hart – this is a debut for the company
- Avocados From Mexico x Drew Brees – they will create a “House of Goodness” digital space to further explore the brand
Here are some other notable category trends:
Automotive
Brands such as Kia, Toyota, and Nissan will return to the game after not appearing last year. The only auto brand that has been announced so far that also was in the game last year is GM, whose commercial starred Will Ferrell and featured electric vehicles. Speaking of EV, we know Nissan will feature Brie Larson and a new EV. There is also an EV charging brand called Wallbox that will be making its debut.
Crypto
FTX and Crypto.com have both announced they will have spots for the first time. Crypto.com already has the naming rights to the former Staples Center in LA, and FTX recently purchased naming rights to an arena in Miami. FTX already has athletes like Tom Brady and Stephen Curry as brand ambassadors, so the future of sports and cryptocurrency will continue to intertwine in the future.
Halftime Show
Not necessarily advertiser related, but Pepsi has released a trailer for the halftime show for the first time since they began presenting it in 2013. Performers will be Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar. Since 2020, Roc Nation (Jay-Z) & the NFL have been in partnership to curate the halftime performances, where past performers were The Weeknd and Shakira & Jennifer Lopez.