Medium is the Message: How Super Bowl Ads Boost Affinity

The Super Bowl is one of the few remaining broadcasts that can guarantee an advertiser a massive, diverse, and engaged audience. Whether it is money spent on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s political campaign, the religious “He Gets Us” campaign, or Beyoncé teasing her new music video in Verizon's "Can't B Broken" ad, the message gets spread wider on Super Bowl Sunday than a typical year’s worth of ad spends can often do.

The Brand Affinity of Advertising During the Super Bowl

Applying Marshall McLuhan’s concept of “the medium is the message,” the influence of Super Bowl advertising illuminates how the medium — broadcast television during one of the most watched events in the United States — plays a crucial role in the spreadable influence on society in many ways that go beyond the content itself:

Cultural Impact: The Super Bowl is not just a sports event; it’s a cultural phenomenon that includes entertainment, music, and social gatherings. An ad placed in this context gains cultural relevance by association. The medium here — the Super Bowl event — elevates the ad from a simple commercial message to a part of a shared cultural experience. Doing so can increase brand memorability, purpose, and affinity for products and services.

High Engagement: The unique aspect of Super Bowl ads is that viewers are often as interested in the commercials as they are in the game. This high level of engagement means that the medium itself changes the nature of the message; it is expected to entertain, amuse, or move the audience, not just inform or persuade about a product.

Social Media Amplification: While the Super Bowl is a traditional broadcast event, the medium’s impact is extended through social media. Ads are discussed, shared, and replayed online, amplifying the message far beyond the original broadcast. According to Sprout Social, data from this year’s game shows how surprise commercials — such as those from Verizon, Temu, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — dominated the conversation. The interplay between traditional broadcast and digital media platforms broadens the reach and prolongs the lifespan of the ad’s message.

Innovation and Creativity: The expectation for Super Bowl ads to be extraordinary pushes advertisers to be more innovative and creative. Thus, the medium influences the message by demanding a higher standard of creativity, which can lead to ads that are more memorable, impactful, and effective in branding.

Visuals Amplify the Intent: Because people only remember 65% of what they see, compared to ten percent of what they hear, the critical role visuals play cannot be overstated. As Dr. Pamela B. Rudledge , Director,?Media Psychology Research Center, explains, "The brand purpose and value must be the driving force behind the narrative, with visual content reinforcing the message to ensure that the entire experience supports brand awareness and value."

Brand Purpose: Companies that focus on brand purpose during the Super Bowl do it for good reason: it provides real-world, tangible benefits. In fact, Kantar’s BrandZ global brand equity study of 20,000 brands across 50 markets shows that brands perceived by consumers to have a strong purpose grew their value by 175% over 12 years — more than double that of brands perceived by consumers as having a weaker purpose.

The Google Pixel “Guided Frame” commercial is a heartfelt narrative that drives positive brand affinity by showcasing its ability to empower blind and low-vision users to capture life’s moments through photography.

Another ad with brand purpose is, "Feet Washing" by He Gets Us, shows Christians washing people's feet, highlighting one of Jesus' most famous acts of servitude. It depicts people coming together to wash the feet of others as a show of kindness and humility.

"The success of campaigns like CeraVe's , which received high marks, lies in their ability to resonate with the intended audience," adds Dr. Rutledge. "However, as seen with transmedia extensions like Michael Cera distributing CeraVe, or the immediate recognition of the actor, those outside the target market may miss the subtleties, leaving the ad memorable but potentially missing its value proposition."

"It’s also important to recognize the mental models the target audience is carrying so that the ad becomes quickly relevant even before the 'message' sinks in. The CeraVe campaign got high marks."?

However, if you missed the transmedia extensions (like Michael Cera handing out CeraVe) or didn’t immediately recognize Michael Cera, then you probably weren’t the target market, and the ad, although became memorable for being a spoof versus a value-proposition."

In the case of "Feet Washing,' despite its positive message and conservative and Christian affiliations, the brand is being slammed by some because not all of its images conform with their own beliefs.

Conclusion

Ultimately. for brands seeking to leave a lasting impression, the Super Bowl is not just a stage — it’s a megaphone with cultural influence that extends far beyond the final whistle. When executed effectively, the use of this wide-reaching medium sparks captivating conversations among viewers and ignites a social buzz, leaving an impact that far outlasts its fleeting run time.

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