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With Super Bowl 58 commercials clocking in at $7 million for 30 seconds, advertisers are all trying to make a sure bet with their creative.
According to a survey of Super Bowl watchers by United Talent Agency’s UTA IQ, Big Game commercials that reference—or, lately, revive—specific entertainment IP or characters are considered both unique (71%) and more likely to improve purchase consideration (72%). Among recent hits were Jeep’s Groundhog Day revival with Bill Murray and PopCorners reuniting the Breaking Bad duo.
Celebrities also won out over cute animals, with ad watchers rating them as more memorable (79% vs. 70%).
But keep in mind that merely casting a celebrity is not enough. “The best ads are always the ones where talent is deeply involved with the creative process,” said Garrett Smith, endorsements and voice-over agent at UTA. PopCorners relied heavily on Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul and Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan to produce its highly successful Super Bowl commercial in 2023. “Directed by Vince, the creative leaned into the popular IP to ensure its authenticity. As a result, the campaign was extremely successful and a model for other marketers,” Smith added.
Don’t have the budget for an A-lister? There’s one major Super Bowl commercial hack: using popular music. Live Nation reported its biggest quarter ever in Q3 2023, with revenue up 32% to $8.2 billion, so it’s no surprise that popular music tied with humor (82%) as the best way to make a Super Bowl ad stand out.
And when it comes to tone—funny or emotional—figure out what’s best for your brand, because consumers rated them almost equally impactful.
Bottom line? Using the YouGov Brand Index, UTA IQ analyzed KPIs for 34 advertisers and found that 90 days post-game, Super Bowl viewers ranked higher down the entire purchase funnel for participating brands than non-viewers.
This story first appeared in the Jan. 30, 2024, issue of Adweek magazine. Click here to subscribe.
