Marketerholic on Super Bowl LVIII: Data on Creative | #s You Haven’t Seen

By Lina Calia, Co-Founder, CMO Syndicate

Hi, I’m Lina and I’m a Marketerholic. I admit it, I watch the Super Bowl for the ads.

The game was heat breaking given that I’ve been a Bay Area resident for 28 years and was rooting for the 49ers. But it was a fantastic game. Congratulations Kansas City.

This article sources the iSpot.tv annual Super Bowl Transparency report and this year it is better than ever.

I’ve deployed iSpot and other technologies across all media channels successfully for more than 10 brands over the past 8 years consistently garnering double-digit improvements in actual trackable business performance. It isn’t easy to educate executive leadership, upskill internal teams, operationalize the process that a true accountable marketing machine requires, and get agencies aligned against “One True North” metric for all. If you know me, you know this is where my passion lies. Getting the most out of every dollar, breaking silos, embracing technology (yep, I'm all over AI too), and inspiring teams to double-digit performance gains. DM me if you want to chat more.

Onto Super Bowl the Ads:

65 advertisers | 81 creatives | 116 celebrities | 6 AI ads -à Most Likable & Most Effective might surprise you.

“Super Bowl LVIII shattered viewership records, drawing an average minute audience of 126.6 million viewers across linear, streaming and out-of-home, marking a 10.9% increase from the previous year.”? ISpot even reported on the impressions that Taylor Swift received when she was shown cheering in her box 12 times during the game.? Did you guess it got her a 97.5 million reach impressions.? Thought you’d like that stat.

Linear tv still rules, but the growth of streaming can’t be ignored.

Measuring Creative, Media & Business Impact:

Super Bowl Ads Consistently Outperform the Average Ads

Super Bowl LVIII saw a slight dip in overall ad likeability year-over-year, reflecting societal polarization. BMW's "Talkin' Like Walken" ad stood out as the most likeable, emphasizing the importance of inclusive narratives for broad audience appeal.

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Inclusivity, Purpose, and Nostalgia: Many ads highlighted the rising expectation for inclusivity, purpose,

Brands also tapped into nostalgia to appeal to their audience's emotions to drive brand loyalty.

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Most Likeable ads tied celebrity into nostalgia with great storytelling. I personally loved the VW ad as I was always a Herbie the Love Bug fan, and I laughed out loud watching Arnold try to say neighbor or Neighbaaa .

Likeability average for Super Bowl LVIII was 637.

Celebrity. Celebrity. Celebrity Yikes 116 celebrities, some were huge wins, others not so much.

An unprecedented 65% of the ads used celebrities, but their effectiveness varied widely. Celebrity alone can’t carry the day, but it sure can help if done right.

I was surprised to see the Ben Affleck Dunkin’ ads not scoring higher on likability. I guess he isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but the Dunkin’ marketing team is brilliant. Have you noticed how they not only teased the ads in the weeks prior to the game, but really pushed their effectiveness on game day and immediately after? Did you see the full long version circulating on YouTube and social media? How about all the behind-the-scenes videos and talk show appearances. Absolutely brilliant. When everyone zigs, you zag. Dunkin’ did just that by giving the audience more as quickly as possible. I see the media & creative strategy used for promoting movies and tv shows used in the Dunkin’ campaign.

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Nostalgia Still Breaks Through: VW (Herbie & Punch Buggy Simpsons), State Farm (Arnold’s Neighbaaa), Budweiser (Clydesdales the beloved dog) ads were all incredible. They all scored double-digits higher in likability than the norm for the game. I loved that Budweiser felt like the confident and heartwarming brand it once was. Yes, they went through a lot of turmoil in recent years directly tied to marketing blow-back. But in this year’s game, they came back by going back to their roots.

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AI Integration is Everywhere: During the 2024 Super Bowl, several advertisers showcased artificial intelligence in their commercials, reflecting the growing integration of AI into various aspects of daily life and commerce. Here is how AI was featured in different ads, including iSpot.tv Likability scores:

BodyArmor: In a regional Super Bowl commercial, BodyArmor humorously depicted the imperfections of AI by showing athletes with disproportionate body parts and unusual scenarios, highlighting the brand's commitment to authenticity by using "real sweeteners, real flavors"

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Despicable Me 4: The ad for the film "Despicable Me 4" included a humorous take on AI, with Minions generating bizarre AI-generated images, poking fun at the concept of AI while also acknowledging its creative potential.

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Striking a Serious Tone Brands like Dove, Pfizer and Microsoft delivered empowering messages authentically. However, ads addressing sensitive topics faced polarizing responses. Balancing meaningful messaging with audience reception is crucial in today's climate.

There is so much more actionable insight for business performance, creative and media that I could go on forever. Here is the link to the full iSpot.tv Super Bowl LVIII TV Transparency report. And you can also check out their Super Bowl ad center that lets you look back over years of past big game ads and performance.

Super Bowl LVIII TV Transparency Report

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