AdImpact estimates Super Bowl LIX saw an average viewership of 137M viewers, making it the most-watched television event in American history. The Super Bowl continues to be one of the few programs to reach a wide audience, so broadcasters televising the game want to get their money’s worth. The cost of a :30s national spot is estimated to be close to $8M, nearly $1M more than the rate for the previous two Super Bowls. Despite the heavy price tag, advertisers paid up, as Fox sold out of ad inventory for the Super Bowl last November.
To gauge the changing dynamics of the game, AdImpact analyzed national and local linear ads across five key industries throughout the last three Super Bowls.
Anheuser-Busch Continues to Dominate Beer and Alcohol Ads
Anheuser-Busch was back in full force this Super Bowl, advertising four of its beer products nationally: Budweiser, Michelob Ultra, Stella Artois, and Bud Light. Comparatively, Anheuser-Busch only aired ads for Bud Light, Budweiser, and Michelob Ultra during last year’s Super Bowl. Outside of the AB family, Coors was the only other beer to air a national ad, bringing the total beer advertisements to five.
Airings during this year’s Super Bowl were up from four (Bud Light, Budweiser, Coors, Michelob Ultra) in 2024, but down from nine in 2023, the year after Anheuser-Busch’s exclusivity deal on beer advertising during the Super Bowl ended. That game saw national spots from Samuel Adams, Blue Moon, Miller Light, and an alcohol-free Heineken. However, these brands have not aired any national Super Bowl spots since 2023.
Outside of beer, two alcohol-related ad spots ran regionally during the big game. Irish whiskey brand, Tullamore Dew aired an ad in Chicago, while Maine Spirits, the sole liquor distributor in the state of Maine, aired an ad in the Bangor and Portland markets.
FOX, Disney, and YouTube TV Highlight Their Streaming Offerings
During its Super Bowl broadcast last year, CBS highlighted its streaming service, Paramount+. It was Fox’s turn this year to highlight Tubi, which broadcast the game for free for the first time. Tubi captured the audiences’ interest as it garnered 18.7% of the game’s total audience, and aired yet another “interesting” ad after their rabbit hole spot in 2023 left viewers intrigued. Tubi aired a second spot giving a Gen Z style spotlight to their new show: "The Z Suite".
While Hulu, a Fox-affiliate, had no national spot, there were over seven unique ads from Fox highlighting new episodes of shows with next-day Hulu premieres, including The Masked Singer and Rescue HiSurf, among others. Hulu’s owner, Disney, aired a national spot highlighting its Disney+ and Hulu offerings.
The only other streaming service to air a linear ad was YouTube TV, which highlighted its sports quadbox. Youtube and YoutubeTV captured 12.8% of the game’s total viewers.
The number of national linear spots promoting streaming platforms during this year’s Super Bowl is down from the seven ads that aired during last year’s big game (Amazon Prime, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, PlutoTV, and YouTube TV). Notably, this marks two years since Netflix aired a national Super Bowl spot and three years since HBO Max aired a spot.
One Original Movie Among Many Live Action Remakes and Sequels Highlighted During the Super Bowl
Studios exude an air of confidence in their movies when they reserve a multi-million-dollar national Super Bowl spot. This year’s game saw five national spots for movies, and those decrying a lack of originality in Hollywood would be emboldened by the fact that only one movie advertised was not a sequel or a live-action remake: Thunderbolts, the newest entry to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Two live-action remakes of beloved early 2000s animated movies saw ads during the Big Game: Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon.
Lastly, two sequels saw national spots: Tom Cruise’s action-filled Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, and MEGAN 2.0. Other movies featured during pregame coverage included Jurassic World Rebirth, Captain America: Brave New World, and Novocaine.
Overall, this year’s Super Bowl saw the lowest number of national movie spots this decade as the 2024 Super Bowl saw eight movies advertised while 2023 saw nine movies advertised.
Regional QSR’s Take Advantage of Local Advertising
With QSR heavily split between national and regional chains and campaigns, QSRs took advantage of the perks that come with cost-effective local ad campaigns during the Super Bowl. Only three chains went national during the Super Bowl this year- Dunkin, Lil Caesar’s, and Taco Bell- while 21 other chains went regional.
Local advertising during the big game can help regional chains maximize their budget and reach. For example, West Coast-based Carl’s Jr aired an ad across the West Coast and Texas—where they’ve recently expanded- while Southern-based Zaxby’s only advertised in the South. Even national chains such as McDonald’s and Domino’s aired regional ads.
With the game being televised on both Fox Deportes and Telemundo, McDonald’s also targeted several FOX Spanish stations with ads in Spanish.
Check back in later this month as we explore the ways the rise of CTV has created new opportunities for local advertisers.
Sports Betting Continues to Find Its Footing
Since a 2018 Supreme Court ruling that enabled states to legalize sports betting, it has emerged as a dynamic new frontier in the world of advertising. With a new industry, however, came some regulations. Pertinent to the Super Bowl, the NFL has restrictions in place when it comes to live games, as sports betting ads can make up no more than 5% of all ads during the broadcast.As such, only two sports betting ads aired during the game, the third annual FanDuel ad, and a national spot from Draft Kings.
BetMGM was noticeably missing this year after last year’s star-studded spot featuring Tom Brady and Vince Vaughn, which, alongside FanDuel’s ad, were the only sports betting national ads in last year’s Super Bowl. The 2023 Super Bowl saw the most sports betting ads during the big game so far, with ads from BetMGM, Draft Kings, FanDuel, and Fox Bet App.
While most brands have found success with a consistent formula for spots during the big game (some even sharing a very similar concept), we did see some brands like Taco Bell poking fun at the now-expected celeb cameo, or taking a more somber tone than the more common comedic ads, such as those from Jeep, Pfizer and the anti-hate ad featuring Snoop Dogg and Tom Brady. Ads that break the mold entirely, such as this year’s bathroom break from Angel Soft, or the QR code ad from Coinbase in 2022, tend to stand out in viewers’ memories. Industries with decades-long history in Super Bowl advertising such as beer, QSR, and film are continuously facing new changes and challenges, while newer industries continue to try to find their footing on the competitive national stage. Whatever happens, AdImpact will be there to see where the new trends take these brands and report back.
For a recap of the biggest ads from the game, check out our recent blog: FOX, Tubi, and the Eagles’ Big Day: A Record-Breaking 137M Watched Super Bowl LIX.
