Will Super Bowl 2023 be a Return to “Normal” Ads?
Advertisements during the Super Bowl are almost as big an event as the game itself. For those who work in advertising, it certainly is considered by many as more important.
2022 was an interesting year for advertisers. Consumers saw a number of ads by companies they had never heard of, and companies that grew significantly during COVID, only to see massive drops in revenue in the past year.
Last year’s Super Bowl was the first time many people had even heard of companies like Coinbase, FTX, and eToro. All three are (or were) crypto companies that have struggled ever since, coinciding with the fall of Bitcoin’s price, and the epic collapse of FTX.
Other advertisers included Carvana and Vroom, two companies that specialize in online car sales, removing the need to visit a dealership. During the early days of COVID when people couldn’t, or did want to visit places in person, these companies saw rapid growth. But since then, both have struggled in a world that is some-what returning to normal.
Investor George Maroudas tweeted this post about investing in each of the publicly traded companies that advertised last year. For those who don’t want to do the math, it would net a loss of about -48%. The market was down last year, but from Feb 10, 2022 — Feb 9, 2023 the NASDAQ was down about -18%, making investments in last year’s advertisers a very bad bet.
This year we expect a bit of a return to “normal” Super Bowl advertisers. This means a focus on beer and alcohol, food and candy, and more established companies.
Notable advertisers include MillerCoors, which will showcase two of their main brands Miller Lite and Coors Light in the same ad. Even though they are owned by the same parent company, these two brands are normally advertised separately and positioned as competitors.
Other companies have done this in the past, seemingly as a way to make the most of the $7 million price tag assigned to each 30 second spot. Why not get more bang for your buck?
M&Ms seemingly started early with ads featuring Maya Rudolph as their new spokesperson, and even including her face on the candy. They’ve done a great job of generating social media posts and articles asking questions about the sudden introduction of Rudolph, and generating buzz about what the Super Bowl ad might actually say.
More beer ads from Bud Light and Michelob Ultra are expected, both of which are Super Bowl regulars. Celebrates such as Serena Williams and Brian Cox have been featured in the past, and are expected to make returns to this year’s event.
We also expect more ads from sports betting companies including DraftKings and FanDuel. FanDuel is hosting the ‘Kick of Destiny’ with Rob Gronkowski at halftime, and has already spent millions promoting this event.
Both DraftKings and FanDuel have seen massive hits to their stock price over the past 1–2 years, but as sports betting is legal now in 30 U.S. states, and poised to only grow in the coming years, these companies and their investors are still spending millions on advertising to win market share.
I for one do enjoy watching the ads. While I’m an avid NFL fan, and still a bit salty about my Buffalo Bills not being in the game, I enjoy watching the ads just as much as the game. When I watch the game I hope that the ads are noteworthy. I want to see something really funny, surprising, or entertaining.
You’re spending $7 million on the ad, not including production, press and other expenses, to generate as much buzz about your brand as possible. I hate to see an ad I’ve already seen, or a fairly “bland” ad run during the game.
I do find it interesting to see how the companies fair after the game. Last year seems to be an extreme example of companies that lost so much revenue and value following a massive ad push. But as a fan of advertising, this Sunday I’m more interested in seeming something I’ll remember, then thinking about it might affect someone’s stock price.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go to the store to stock up on chips and chicken wings. Enjoy the game!
