Is The Super Bowl Ad Investment Still Worth It? Industry Experts Weigh In
Welcome to another edition of Brand and Demand 3.0, a Continuum series in which we invite industry leaders to offer their insight on cultural moments, events, trends, and ideas that matter to brands and marketers. As always, we aim to bridge the gap between top-of-funnel brand awareness and day-to-day performance marketing.
Each year, the Super Bowl presents an alluring opportunity for brands to engage with millions of viewers in a matter of minutes. As the excitement surrounding the game endures among dedicated sports fans, recent research suggests that the Super Bowl’s grip on advertising dominance may be waning. The likeability of advertisements has steadily decreased over recent years, and advertiser retention has dipped, with attrition rates surpassing 50%. Despite this, the cost to secure a spot hit record highs this year, with some brands investing up to $8 million for just 30 seconds of airtime.
With this year’s Big Game in the rearview mirror, we spoke with several industry leaders to get their take on the evolving Super Bowl landscape. Specifically, we asked whether they believe brands are getting their money’s worth, what factors make this high-profile investment truly valuable, and whether the steep cost of a Super Bowl ad is justified in today’s media environment. We also encouraged leaders to reflect on this year’s stand-out ads and why these spots resonated with them. Here’s what they had to say:
Jeff Ratner, President, Media, Analytics, and Data
The Best $7MM a Marketer Can Spend??
Believe it or not, despite the $7MM price tag, a Super Bowl spot remains one of the most efficient media buys available. With a single ad, marketers can reach more consumers than they could in weeks across other tactics. And despite the game-day distractions—the wing grabs, chip bowl passes, and beer runs—these commercials are among the most watched, talked about, and remembered ads of the year.
Super Bowl ads enjoy an extended life beyond the Game Day exposure. They dominate headlines, fuel social media chatter, and rack up millions of views on YouTube and news programs—delivering free advertising in the form of additional reach and frequency.
For most brands, it’s not just about the 30 seconds on air. The Super Bowl is a launchpad for their biggest creative ideas, new campaigns, and product debuts. Smart marketers amplify their investment with teaser campaigns, social extensions, retail activations, and more, turning a single spot into a months-long marketing moment.
That said, recent years have been a bit underwhelming. Whether due to COVID-era caution or creative complacency, the ads, teasers, and activations haven’t quite lived up to the hype. But I’m optimistic that Super Bowl LIX will turn the tide!
Mari Kim Novak, Founder/CEO
MKnCo Advisory Inc.
The value of a Super Bowl ad largely depends on the brand's strategic objectives. The event offers unmatched reach, with an audience spanning multiple demographics—making it one of the few opportunities for mass exposure in today’s fragmented media landscape. From a brand awareness perspective, it’s a powerful tool that ensures your message reaches millions in a short period of time.
Of course, digital and social channels allow brands to deliver personalized messages to specific segments with advanced targeting capabilities, often at a fraction of the cost of a Super Bowl ad. Today's audience is savvy, simply being "on TV" does not guarantee a connection with the target audience. The key is balancing broad reach with precision.
If a brand is using the Super Bowl spot as part of a larger, integrated campaign—backed by strong creative, social media buzz, alternative media outlets, and real-time engagement—a Super Bowl ad can be a game-changer. Maximizing the investment is crucial. If you're spending the money, make sure you have a plan in place to amplify the message. Take, for example, Bud Light’s “Cul-de-Sac” spot, which was star-studded and entertaining. It was also supported by a broader investment strategy—being the official beer sponsor, running sweepstakes for game tickets, and integrating out-of-home (OOH) billboards, social media, and digital campaigns. This approach could prove to be a great investment.
The Super Bowl’s large audience also serves to keep your brand top of mind. On Cloud’s QC sneaker commercial, for instance, might not have generated massive buzz, but its clever use of humor made the brand memorable, and depending on how this commercial is supported by a broader investment, it could prove that even subtle recognition can be invaluable.
But sometimes companies like Jacob & Co just come out as the big winners. Their product placement with Tom Brady wearing their $700K watch went viral with no commercial spot. This strategic approach might have been a smarter investment than many of the commercials aired during the game.
In the end, the Super Bowl is a powerful platform, and if approached strategically, the supporting tactics could truly help maximize its value.
David Shing, Founder
Long after the final touchdown, after the highs and lows of another Super Bowl, life goes on. But does your ad?
Whether a Super Bowl ad is worth it depends not just on game night but on the weeks and months ahead—on whether your audience remembers your wacky stunt (hello, Mountain Dew) or truly connects with your positioning (T-Mobile and Starlink, we see you). Or you decide to sit it out and donate the ad money to the West Coast fire relief like (State Farm). Will your audience recall your moment, and more importantly, will they attribute it to your brand?
In the ad industry, we love to say that “Like a Girl” may be one of the greatest Super Bowl ads of all time—but does the average viewer even remember that it was P&G? Maybe “Every Ad is a Tide Ad” was more effective, or maybe it’s Snickers’ “You’re Not Yourself When You’re Hungry” that created the most repeatable, brand-anchored moment. It doesn’t matter what we think—it only matters what your audience remembers, attributes, and acts on.
From a sales impact perspective, what actually moves the needle? Smart marketing teams look beyond the hype to ask: Did the ad actually do what we needed it to do?
The key metrics:
● Sales Impact: Did it drive short-term revenue?
● Ad Distinctiveness: Did it stand out from the clutter?
● Brand Recall: Did viewers identify and remember the brand?
● Overall Emotion: Did the ad make people feel something?
Super Bowl ads aren’t just about eyeballs—they’re about action. If your spot hits a combination of these key factors, it justifies the spend. If not? You just dropped $8 million for a 30-second flex.
Circling back to the question of whether or not a Super Bowl spot is still worth it; the answer is it depends. If your ad works beyond game night—leveraging teasers, influencer partnerships, and post-game buzz—the Super Bowl remains one of the last true mass-audience moments in advertising.
But if your brand doesn’t land, doesn’t drive impact, and doesn’t stick? That money might be better spent elsewhere. Don't worry; your audience will let you know.
Suzanne Powers, Founder and CEO
It's hard to evaluate whether brands get their money's worth as it depends on their objectives and what they're hoping to achieve. That said, the Super Bowl continues to be one of the few appointment viewing opportunities guaranteed to draw a large audience, and the hype surrounding the big game gives smart brands a way to get involved in a community of fans who are actively consuming media and participating in loads of ways. This can lead to deeper engagement and endearment if handled well. It takes bravery and smart creativity to stand out in that Super Bowl party setting, but infiltrating culture can be worth its weight in gold if done well.
In terms of this year’s spots, I loved a lot this year, which is rare for me to say. I was thrilled to see Nike at its best with a brand anthem, ‘So Win.’ It has everything we need from a brand—conviction, clarity, heart, soul, and a message that's truly embedded in the legacy of Nike with the modernity of today. Plus, my inner athlete had chills.
I also can't get enough of 'DunKings' and am still finding gems in the reams of content they've put out. We need celebrities to do exactly what they're doing in the DunKings world by being self-effacing, hilarious, light-hearted, and all with so much BRANDING it's insane. I can't wait for my juicy collab sweatsuit to arrive.
Hats off also to Novartis for taking a strong insight and using it to drive action through their 'your attention please' plea. Excellent work center-stage for such an important issue and executed so well.
Finally, we can't talk about the Super Bowl, culture, and the opportunity it provides for important conversations from light to serious without talking about that halftime show. There are so many layers going on there that I have a feeling we'll be digging deep into that for years to come.
Jason Dille, Chief Media Officer
A spot in the Super Bowl is a cachet investment, much like someone would buy a Rolex for prestige versus buying a Timex that provides the same utility. It is the only singular event that can reach such a significant number of consumers at one time, and that comes at a premium. It is also the only event where consumers create a commentary about the ads, and there is a social discussion about ads. Nobody makes a list of the top 5 ads from their recent streaming binge session. At Chemistry, we call it the Reaction Radius. Yes, your investment of $8M for a spot delivered a reach to 127 million people at once, but the ripple effects of exposure coming from the social commentary, articles, and features are a force multiplier.
Who got it right: Pringles & Little Caesars for pouncing on the opportunity to extend their Reaction Radius by addressing what everyone had on their mind…did two brands just do the same ad? Kudos to them for potentially preplanning that or for reacting to social commentary in real time.
David Figueroa, Director of Growth
We live in a world where performance metrics dominate the conversation, and immediate results feel like the ultimate goal. However, some investments create immense value beyond what can be measured in the short term. The Super Bowl is one of those investments.
It’s not the right media play for every brand or every stage of growth. But elements like credibility, likability, and brand perception—while they may not drive instant sales—are critical when building a lasting brand. They are elements that lead to more sustainable growth in sales. That’s what we mean when we say “Brand Led. Demand Driven.”
A great example is what we did to introduce Squarespace to the Super Bowl in 2014. Squarespace operates in an ultra-competitive space where performance marketing rules, yet they’ve consistently invested in the Super Bowl ever since. Over time, this has helped build their brand equity, reinforcing their position as a dominant player and making a bold statement: "We’re here to stay.”
Beyond just showing up, execution plays a huge role in success. A Super Bowl ad doesn’t have to check every box to make an impact. It just needs to resonate in the right way.
A few brands stood out this year for different reasons. From a writing and storytelling perspective, Ritz, Uber Eats, and Stella Artois delivered strong narratives. For audience engagement, Lilo & Stitch and Rocket Mortgage nailed it. And purely from an entertainment standpoint, Liquid Death and Hellmann’s brought the fun.
February 18, 2025
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