How did Super Bowl commercials become so expensive?

The Street

A timeline of some of the most expensive advertising in history.

Transcript

00:00Just how much does a Super Bowl ad cost in 2025?

00:03If you have to ask, you probably can't afford it.

00:06Just kidding, but really, like, you probably can't.

00:08According to USA Today, a 30-second commercial

00:11during Super Bowl 58 cost $7 million.

00:14And according to Variety, that price is the same

00:16for ads in Super Bowl 59.

00:18No inflation here, apparently.

00:19This is actually the third year in a row

00:22that the coveted ad spots have cost a cool $7 million.

00:26For comparison, ads that run

00:27during the NFL's Sunday Night Football

00:29run $882,079.

00:32That's according to Sports Business Journal.

00:34Still, that's more money than most of us

00:36regular people can comprehend.

00:37But hey, quite a bit less than that coveted Super Bowl spot.

00:40Meanwhile, if we take a look back

00:41to the very first Super Bowl in the 1960s,

00:44those ad spots were $37,500.

00:47Now, if you adjust that for inflation,

00:48that's roughly $360,000 in today's money.

00:52The Super Bowl ads didn't hit the million-dollar mark

00:55until 1995.

00:56That year, they clocked in at $1.15 million

00:59for a 30-second ad spot.

01:01The cost has continued to rise over the years,

01:03but the biggest ever jump in cost

01:05was between 2021 and 2022,

01:07when the pricing went from $5.5 million to $6.5 million.

01:11That's still for that 30-second spot.

01:13You might be wondering whether it's worth it

01:14to throw down this much money for 30 seconds of airtime.

01:17According to research from the University of Minnesota

01:20Carlson School of Management,

01:21the payout from these ads is not immediate.

01:24While brands do tend to see an immediate boost

01:26in clicks and website traffic,

01:27it takes a while for the sales to come through,

01:29and it's definitely more of a long game

01:31in terms of brand recognition.

01:33Some of the most memorable commercials of all time

01:35have initially aired during the Super Bowl.

01:37Apple's 1984 commercial was a fairly big risk,

01:40featuring a dystopian future

01:41where no one could think for themselves.

01:43A bloom secure from the pests

01:46of a contradictory force.

01:50A unification of force is more powerful a weapon

01:53than any fleet, or army on Earth.

01:56We are one people, with one whim, one resolve, one cause.

02:04It was considered to be so risky, in fact,

02:06that Apple's board of directors

02:08tried to stop it from airing.

02:10But hey, we're still here talking about it today

02:11over 40 years later, so it seems like it worked.

02:14Pepsi has had a few ultra-memorable

02:16Super Bowl commercials over the years,

02:18including their 2004 ad with Beyonce, Britney Spears,

02:21and Pink dressed as Roman gladiators

02:23singing We Will Rock You in the actual Colosseum,

02:26as in the one in Italy.

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03:02At the end of the day, if brand recognition is your goal,

03:04then you're sure to get plenty of eyeballs

03:06with a Super Bowl ad spot.

03:07The 2024 Super Bowl was the most-watched

03:10television program in all of history.

03:12Nielsen ratings showed that the Super Bowl

03:14saw 210 million viewers in 2024.

03:17We may be able to thank the Taylor Swift effect

03:19for that one.

03:20Will the numbers be even better in 2025?

03:22Time will tell, but seeing as Taylor Swift

03:24is expected to be cheering on her boyfriend,

03:26Travis Kelce, in the stands once again,

03:28the odds are looking good for those Nielsen ratings.

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