Cheers ring from the living room, chips and the occasional salsa scoop fly everywhere. The game is intense, each play is pandemonium, a swirl of excitement. And then the harsh reality of impending failure washes over the living room spectators all at once. They’re not worried about the Seahawks or the Patriots, but rather the advertisements.
Every Super Bowl Sunday, over 100 million people tune in to what is the biggest event in U.S. television every year. They tune in not just for football, but also for a different game entirely. At approximately $8 million for 30 seconds, Super Bowl advertisements are a playoff in themselves, a playoff between the biggest companies, which are “fighting for sales and attention,” sophomore Rachel Miller said.
Super Bowl advertisements matter because they quite literally sustain the NFL. To meet the ever-increasing demands of players, coaches, and fans, the NFL relies heavily on advertising revenue. Ads make up more than 25% of the Super Bowl’s total broadcast time, generating over $550 million just that night.
Football is a defining feature of American culture, whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, the Super Bowl is streamed to all areas of the states. This makes it perfect for advertisers willing to invest millions upon millions for national exposure. “I have a Super Bowl Party every year at my house, not everyone invited agrees on everything, but we all love football,” junior Gavin Morton said.
Football is a unique sport in the fact that it is well-suited for television. Football is one of the only popular sports where everyone watching from the comfort of their living room couches actually has a better view and a greater understanding of the game than anyone in the crowds. From different camera angles to expert commentary, football is made digestible for at-home fans in ways other sports can’t be.
All advertisements, whether at the Super Bowl or not, aim to do one of three things, spark, persuade or rekindle brand loyalty. “Honestly, I had forgotten about some of the brands that made ads. Like, tell me Uber Eats hadn’t slipped your mind with how many more people are using DoorDash,” freshman Ajay Acharya said.
AI dominated this Super Bowl, with over 25% of advertisements dealing with AI in some way, according to iSPOT. A perfect example of a well produced, and entertaining ad was Rings “Search Party” AI, which helps find lost pets. It was informational, presented compelling reasons to buy their product, and was heartwarming, this made it both entertaining and persuasive.
The Dunkin Fibonacci Sequence advertisement was a fan favourite. It worked because of its unexpected and slightly absurd humor, which made it stand out against the more professional ads, especially the AI related ones. “It was the only commercial I actually laughed at,” sophomore Joshua Orozco said.
Advertisements either lean toward doing too much or too little; the perfect balance is almost impossible to achieve since opinions on the advertisements are rarely shaped solely by the products or the video. Rather, they are shaped primarily by past experiences with the brand or its overall reputation.
One example of an incredibly effective Super Bowl ad is the Temu “Shop like a billionaire” ad from last year. The advertisement had bright visuals and an incredibly catchy phrase, which made it one of the most talked-about ads in 2025. The statistics only prove its effectiveness as, after their Super Bowl ads, “Temu saw a 50% increase in downloads over the first three days,” according to Bloomberg.
Advertising during the Super Bowl is a high-risk, high-reward competition. Companies take their best shot at $8 million worth of airtime, knowing success can lead to praise and great financial gain, while failure can incite criticism. In a media, business and consumerist-centered world, those 30 seconds can matter just as much as any touchdown.
Freshman Serenity Sanni watches Temu Super Bowl commercial on her phone, sitting beside the gymnasium door in the commons on Feb 25. With the recent Super Bowl LX just passing, people are talking more about the advertisements than the Football game itself. Sanni said, “I love rewatching the advertisements, one because some of them are actually pretty entertaining and fun to watch, and two because I like to know what lots of companies are doing.”
