Why Do Super Bowl Ads Suck Now?

It Turns Out That Super Bowl Ads Suck Now, I Wanted To Find Out Why

SPORTS

John Siebels

2/10/20243 min read

I remember a time not so long ago when a Super Bowl watch party would host two very different groups of people. The first were the die-hard football fans. Those of us who follow the sport all year long, who know the players, understand the strengths and weaknesses of the teams, and can explain the complex strategic decisions that go into winning a game as important as the Super Bowl. The other group was there for the commercials. While the commercial crowd could be annoying to those of us who were interested in the outcome of the game, their interest made some sense. These days, however, not so much.

When first contemplating this article, I assumed that I had missed the best commercials in recent years due to my favorite team playing in the big game pretty much every season. When I started digging, however, I found that I was onto something. It turns out that newer Super Bowl commercials are pretty lame, and I wanted to find out why. First, I looked at different rankings to find the consensus greatest Super Bowl commercials of all time. Not surprisingly, none were listed from the years 2017 or later and the vast majority aired in or prior to 2010. These include the great Betty White “You're Not You When You're Hungry” Snickers ad from 2010 and the classic Mean Joe Greene Coca-Cola spot from the 90’s. So why do companies no longer put out ads with the potential to become ingrained in the collective consciousness of football fans like those previously mentioned?

The first reason is that Super Bowl ads can’t produce the kind of revenue they once did, when burdened with the expenses of airing one. With Super Bowl spots reaching $7 million for 30 seconds many companies no longer see any upside to going for greatness. On top of the millions shelled out for the spot itself, there is the cost of writing, shooting and potentially paying a celebrity to feature in the commercial. Imagine recreating the iconic Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny ad with the cost of Super Bowl airtime today.

The second and possibly real reason is the effectiveness of the niche marketing being done today. Imagine that your product is tailored to 15-20 year olds. Would you pay $7-10 million to run a short commercial sandwiched between a Patrick Mahomes touchdown pass and some beer ads, or $150,000 for a 6-day marketing blitz on TikTok? These affordable and targeted advertising options are superior to footing the bill for an extravaganza to wow the wide array of consumers tuned into the Superbowl, many of them not even your consumers. Sadly, this weans out some of the most creative sponsors.

Third, with the country as bitterly divided as it is today, advertising to the whole is also downright dangerous. Companies know that an edgy and creative ad could anger one camp or the other, leading to a costly consumer backlash campaign.

Will this year be the year that we see a resurgence of great Super Bowl commercials or will the downward trend continue? With heavy hitters like Anheuser-Busch, Coors and E*Trade expected to run ads, plus a commercial appearance from Jason Kelce, we could very well be given one or two big laughs in between the game action. However, with brands expected to play it relatively safe we should plan on the football itself being the main source of entertainment at Super Bowl parties around the country.

John Siebels is the owner of Springhill Sports Cards, he collects and sells sports cards on Ebay, you can find him on Instagram and his Ebay store here