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Big Game Commercials
Ever wondered how this particular tradition began? It goes back to 1967.
Even during the first Super Bowl, the broadcast was about more than two pro teams competing for a trophy. Marketers quickly understood how important displaying their wares would be for an ever-expanding national (and then international) audience.
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Today, plenty of people only watch for the commercials, broadly expanding the viewer base beyond football fanatics. In keeping, brands continue to spend more, and create higher-concept ads, in order to take advantage of the exposure — and create a huge post-game buzz.
The price for these 30-second Super Bowl ads has inevitably risen too, according to tracking details from the American Marketing Association. Here’s what they found:
Early Years
The first Super Bowl pitted the Green Bay Packers against the Kansas City Chiefs and garnered some $42,000 for a commercial. Just three years later, the cost of a 30-second spot had soared to $78,000. Costs passed $100,000 in 1974.
The 1980s
A new decade saw the launch of “event” commercials, as CocaCola unveiled its “Hey Kid, Catch” ad featuring Pittsburgh Steelers defender “Mean” Joe Greene. Costs for a spot in that year’s Super Bowl reached $220,000. By the very next year, pricing had climbed to $324,000. Apple’s Macintosh commercial set new conceptual standards in 1984. Prices then doubled again in 1988, to $645,000 for a 30-second commercial.
The 1990s-2000s
Michael Jordan’s commercials ruled the airwaves in the ‘90s, including crossover ads with Bugs Bunny. By 2001, when Britney Spears was a spokesperson for Pepsi, Super Bowl commercials cost more than $2 million. It still felt like money well spent, since the Super Bowl takes up 10 of the 11 most-watched slots in TV history. (The series finale of “MASH” is the lone exception.)
The 2010s-2020s
Pricing continued to creep ever upward, as Snickers paid more than $2.5 million per spot over the course of their popular “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” campaign, originally starring the late Betty White in 2010. By 2016, commercial costs had crossed $3 million. The pandemic slowed some spending, as the 2021 game saw several advertisers trim their ad buys. Costs were still expected to hover around $6.5 million for the upcoming contest.
