By ADMIN FC The Los Angeles Rams are taking on the Cincinnati Bengals during Super Bowl 56 on Sunday at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Super Bowl advertisers this year want Americans to forget about pandemic woes and focus on the future: of electric vehicles, mind-reading Alexas, robots and cryptocurrency, and also to harken back to the nostalgic past of ’90s movies like Austin Powers and The Cable Guy.
The Los Angeles Rams will take on the Cincinnati Bengals during Super Bowl 56 on Sunday at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. But for many, the big show of the night will be the commercials.
Advertisers are hoping to deliver a dose of escapism with light humour and star-studded entertainment amid the pandemic, high inflation and tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
“Marketers are recognising Americans have had a very heavy, difficult two-year period and are responding by bringing some good old-fashioned entertainment for Super Bowl Sunday,” said Kimberly Whitler, marketing professor at the University of Virginia.
NBC sold out of its advertisement space briskly and said an undisclosed number of 30-second spots went for $7m, a jump from the $6.5m price of last year’s advertisements.
Super Bowl viewership has declined in recent years. Last year, 92 million people tuned in, according to Nielsen, the lowest viewership since 2007. But viewership at other big live events like the Grammys and the Oscars has also plummeted. Ratings for the Olympics, which NBC is broadcasting concurrent with the Super Bowl, are way down, too. So the Super Bowl remains the biggest night for advertisers.
“It’s the only game in town,” said Villanova marketing professor Charles Taylor.
This year’s advertisements will be amusing and warm, leading Kelly O’Keefe, CEO of brand consultancy Brand Federation, dub this year the Ted Lasso Super Bowl. It’s not just because two of the Apple+ sitcoms’ stars are starring in advertisements: Jason Sudeikis In TurboTax and Hannah Waddingham in Rakuten.
It is because the advertisements, like the sitcom, will be “nothing too heavy,” he said. “It’s funny, positive, and makes you happy, but doesn’t go too deep.”
‘Future forward’
What does the future look like? Electric, if carmakers have anything to do with it. With carmakers back in full force this Super Bowl, BMW shows Arnold Schwarzenegger, as Zeus, the god of the sky (or in this commercial, the god of lightning) whose wife, Salma Hayek Pinault, gives him the EV BMW iX to spice up retirement.
Kia showcases the Kia EV6, the brand’s first battery electric vehicle, in its advertisement, along with a cute “robo-dog”. Nissan gives a nod to its all-electric 2023 Nissan Ariya.
A first time advertiser, Wallbox, showcases an actual survivor of being struck by lightning in its advertisement for its home electric vehicle charger.