How would you assess this year’s Super Bowl – from the commercials to the halftime show to the game itself? In this changing media environment, is the Super Bowl as influential as a showcase for advertisers, performers, and the NFL as it was in the past? Limit: 11 responses
Kasey Kerrick
ReplyDeleteEveryone tends to look forward to the Superbowl commercials as they have become a staple of the game. According to Simantel, the highest number of viewers a Superbowl has ever gotten is 114 million in 2014. (Simantel) It is estimated that not that many people are fans of football, but rather watch for the ads or the halftime show. However, because of the changing media environment, the NFL, performers, and advertisers does not seem to be as influential as it has been in the past.
Since 2015, numbers of viewers have continuously gone down for the superbowl. Because of this and the pandemic going on currently, popular advertisers like Budweiser, Coke, and Pepsi are pulling their ads (Hollywood Reporter). They are instead putting their money elsewhere in order to raise coronavirus awareness. A lot of companies also have decided to not pay for the $5.5 million dollar advertisement due to financial issues this year (CNBC). Because of this, new companies are opting in for advertisements like Mercari which is an e-commerce company and Vroom which is a used car retailor (CNBC). This could be a good opportunity for new coverage and shows how the times are changing.
Even though the pandemic is a big reason as to why the superbowl is changing this year, it is also less influential because there are alternate ways to obtain this media information. For example, because we are in an era of video streaming and social media, there are other ways to reach a wide audience without the usage of superbowl ads. Whether it’s a 30 second video before a YouTube clip, or a pop-up on Instagram. “In the era of social media and digital advertising, brands aren’t limited to running ads during one event, since consumers can see them online everywhere…” (Hollywood Reporter). When dealing with performers, we learned in my last semester class, celebrity culture, that as long as they build their brand well with the usage of social media, they can continue to make money by doing things like paid advertisements. Celebrities do not need the fame that halftime performers receive because there are other ways to reach their prospective audience as well.
Even though the Superbowl is the most watched game in the world (besides the World Cup) there are other less expensive ways to reach an audience which companies are opting to do this year due to the financial difficulties the pandemic has caused. Because of this, the Superbowl tends to be less influential than it has been in the past.
WORKS CITED:
Graham, Megan. "CBS Has Sold Virtually All of Its Commercial Time for the Super Bowl." CNBC 27 Jan. 2021,
"Budweiser Joins Coke and Pepsi Brands in Sitting Out First COVID-Era Super Bowl." Associated Press (via The Hollywood Reporter) 25 Jan. 2021,
McGlasson, Travis, and Travis McGlasson. “Are Super Bowl Ads Worth It?” Simantel, 9 Mar. 2020, www.simantel.com/are-super-bowl-ads-worth-it/.
Matt Gallo
ReplyDeleteOther than the highly anticipated game being completely underwhelming, I thought Super Bowl LV was a massive success. From a season that many did not think would happen, it did not have one game cancelled. It was an incredible job by Roger Goodell and the NFL all season, and it ended with a team hosting the Super Bowl for the first time in league history. To start we will cover some of the commercials. My favorite one of the night was the Tide commercial. Having that face on the sweatshirt be changing after getting dirty and thrown around, I found quite comical and relatable. Another stellar commercial was Anheuser-Busch. The whole time during this commercial I was sitting there with my friend saying, this has to be Budweiser or has to be Bud Light. It was a fantastic commercial and really embodied all of their beer in one. Another memorable one from Superbowl LV was the Bud Light Seltzer Lemonade ad. Having lemons fall out of the sky and ruin everyone’s day. According to the article on CNBC a thirty second advertisement for the Superbowl were selling for $5.5 million. In the article the author states, “Though the Super Bowl has always represented a rare opportunity for advertisers to get American eyeballs on their brand, it’s been a difficult and uncertain year for many businesses” (Graham, CNBC). This year we saw your prototypical companies really supply to better Super Bowl commercials. We normally see some out of the blue type of commercials, but Graham is right it is very difficult to spend that much on a commercial for some companies this year. Additionally some companies like Budweiser, Coke and Pepsi decided to not produce a commercial and instead donate money to vaccination awareness efforts (Hollywood Reporter). Something extremely interesting in the article mentioned by Charles Taylor, a marketing professor at Villanova, is when he mentioned “With COVID and economic uncertainty people aren’t necessarily in the best mood to begin with. There’s risk associated with doing anything too somber,”(Associated Press, Hollywood Reporter). Taylor brings up a valuable point in that people would not enjoy the funny commercials as much ths year as normal years. It is pretty disappointing that Taylor is most likely spot on with that, and I hope we get back to some sort of normalcy next year.
Part Two:
DeleteMoving onto the halftime show, The Weeknd was absolutely incredible. A year with a lack of a crowd to view the performance he really showed out. The fact that he put $7 million of his own money into this event (via CBSNews), and was portrayed perfectly during halftime. It felt as if it was a music video and Super Bowl halftime performance rolled into one. It was one of the better ones in recent history and I was quite upset that there was no outfit change. Obviously one of the best parts about the halftime show is the memes that come after it. One of the most iconic Super bowl Halftime memes that come to mind is Katy Perry’s left shark. Even though the Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson was before the meme era, they had their fair share of jokes surrounding the nip slip. When the Weeknd went into the gold room with all of the people with the masks performing Can’t Feel My Face, Twitter blew up.
Lastly the game itself was a massive dud. Up and coming star Patrick Mahomes playing against the GOAT Tom Brady, had the headlines to be one of the most exciting Super Bowls ever. I was also on the hype train as Mahomes was 26-1 in his previous 27 game and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were riding the heels of a seven-game win streak. As a huge football fan, I was sad to see this game be such an unentertaining game. The Chiefs were regarded as having one of the most explosive offenses in the league and has proved it so far in these playoffs. The moral of the story was just how great Tom Brady truly is. America has been groomed to hate the Patriots and their massive success and seeing him do it with a team with the lowest winning percentage of all time is absolute insanity. Beside for maybe Michael Phelps, I think it is safe to say Tom Brady is the best winner in sports history.
Goel, V. R. (2021, February 8). The Weeknd’s Super Bowl halftime performance sparked lots of memes. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-weeknd-halftime-super-bowl-memes/
Graham, M. (2021, January 27). CBS has sold virtually all of its commercial time for the Super Bowl. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/27/cbs-has-sold-virtually-all-of-its-commercial-time-for-the-super-bowl.html
The Associated Press. (2021, January 25). Budweiser Joins Coke and Pepsi Brands in Sitting Out First COVID-Era Super Bowl. The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/budweiser-joins-coke-and-pepsi-brands-in-sitting-out-first-covid-era-super-bowl
Nick Melanson
ReplyDeletePart 1
This year’s Super Bowl seemed fairly consistent with how they did in the pre-COVID world. The game was still played, there were (surprisingly) 25,000 fans in attendance, The Weeknd performed a massive halftime show, and Tom Brady won his 7th Super Bowl.
Let’s start with the game itself. Football wise, it was the exact same as any other Super Bowl. The game went on without a hitch, nobody had to miss the game due to COVID (although half of the Chiefs team almost did after the team barber tested positive), and it was a highly entertaining game. The only main difference that I could tell was that the referees and coaching staffs from each team were wearing face masks.
Now for the commercials. This year there was a noticeable dip in not just the number of commercials, but the quality as well. One of the first things that I noticed was that there was a lot more local commercials. Companies like Trantolo & Trantolo as well as local schools had Super Bowl commercials, which could correspond with the large number of companies that didn’t air an ad this year, freeing up ad space. Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Hyndai, and Budweiser have always been massive players come Super Bowl season, and this year none of them aired a commercial. Pepsi regularly sponsors events such as the Halftime Show and would often run a Super Bowl ad opposite of its main competitor, Coca-Cola. This year however the two soda giants as well as other major companies decided not to run ads with the intent of investing that money in other areas. “All four companies cited varying levels of financial uncertainty or refocusing being done during the COVID-19 pandemic” (Heyen). While COVID had little effect on the game itself, we did see it affect some company’s ability to keep their long running traditions of airing a Super Bowl ad. Budweiser for example snapped their 37-year streak of running an ad in support of using that money to instead aid those most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. I also noticed that the NFL made an ad centered around ending racism and promoting social justice, which in my opinion looked like a valiant effort to backtrack their efforts to silence Collin Kaepernick some 5+ years ago.
Nick Melanson
DeletePart 2
I thought that the Halftime Show was great. The Weeknd had been creating and promoting his character for the last year in preparation of this show, and you could really tell in the quality of his performance. In terms of the overall celebration of the event, once again, I thought it seemed pretty consistent with years past. I did notice however that the majority of his performance was done in the stands, which I don’t believe would be possible in past years. Although there were about 25,000 fans at the game, Raymond James Stadium, home of Super Bowl LV, holds nearly 66,000 people. Since the stadium was at less than half capacity, this allowed the Weeknd to use the stands as his stage, rather than just the field, which is where the show is always held. While a small detail, that was one thing that I picked up on, which wouldn’t have been possible if not for COVID restricting the number of fans in attendance.
I do believe that the Super Bowl is still as influential as a showcase for advertisers, performers, and the NFL as it has been in the past. Historically, the Super Bowl is one of the most watched sporting events of the year, second only to the World Cup. Over the past 11 years, the Super Bowl has averaged over 108 million viewers, not including this year. Prior to 2010, the game had never reached 100 million viewers, and then hit that mark 10 out of the next 11 years, with the highest coming in 2015 as nearly 115 million fans tuned in to watched (Sport Media Watch). With more fans tuning in, the price for a Super Bowl ad has also consistently increased, as in the last 15 years, the price of a Super Bowl ad time slot has more than doubled. If you thought that COVID would have a big hit in terms of money lost for the NFL in ad revenue, think again. Last year, an ad costed a hefty $5.6 million dollars, which coincided with the gradual rise in average viewership over the last two decades (Heyen). This year, that price dropped $100 thousand to $5.5 million, showing that even though companies were pulling out of creating an ad for this year’s Super Bowl, the NFL still knows how much of a reach the game has, charging nearly the same amount for a time slot as they did this time last year, before COVID rocked the world. This goes to prove that although the game looked a little different this year, the Super Bowl is still a showcase for advertisers, performers, the NFL, and its athletes.
Sources:
Heyen, Billy. “Super Bowl Commercials 2021: How Much Does an Ad Cost for Super Bowl 55?” Sporting News Australia, (SN Illustration), 7 Feb. 2021, www.sportingnews.com/au/nfl/news/super-bowl-commercials-cost-2021/pjjs1nsfot5k1s34qf9v59wor.
Heyen, Billy. “Why You Won't See Budweiser, Pepsi, Other Popular Super Bowl Commercials This Year.” Sporting News, (Getty Images), 7 Feb. 2021, www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/super-bowl-commercials-budweiser-pepsi/1e3psq09p5zul1823m1j6k0emy#:~:text=Coca%2DCola%20will%20not%20have,resources%20during%20these%20unprecedented%20times.%22.
“Super Bowl Ratings History (1967-Present).” Sports Media Watch, 25 Feb. 2020, www.sportsmediawatch.com/super-bowl-ratings-historical-viewership-chart-cbs-nbc-fox-abc/.
Morgan Tencza
ReplyDeletePart 1
The Super Bowl has been such a staple in the lives of Americans for decades. Every year, friends and families gather around a TV and stuff their faces with beer and appetizers to watch a football game. It has become a pinnacle in the American experience bringing together sports, entertainment, and music. This year, Americans needed the Super Bowl more than ever as a distraction from the troubles of the pandemic. However, what was on our TVs was nothing worth noting. Not only was the game lackluster in itself, but the commercials were also mildly entertaining, and the halftime show was nothing like years past.
Breaking down the game itself quickly, the people are tired of watching Tom Brady win. There are a lot of controversies involving his politics, parenting, and actual success considering the leniency of calls and games played. Furthermore, the game this year was controversial in itself based upon possible COVID-19 exposure to the Kansas City Chiefs days prior to flying to Tampa. However, the stars of the Chiefs who were almost ruled out still participated in the game, risking both teams and everyone within proximity to the players. It was dangerous and heavily frowned upon by many, but people still tuned in. The game play itself was not very exciting, a lot of defensive and not too many touchdowns. It also was a run-a-way game, therefore probably turning viewers away. I know I stopped watching in the middle of the fourth quarter out of boredom and there were probably many others who shut it off before. That causes a real problem for brands who spend the millions of dollars it cost to run an ad, especially those with the later time slots.
Commercials in the Super Bowl are the focus points for all non-football fans when tuning in. With 30 second advertisements going for $5.5 million, the viewers expected comedic gold, and deserved after a rough year. However, the commercials overall were not rated as well as in past years, with only a few bright spots. According to USA Today’s ad meter, the two highest rated ads were the two Rocket Mortgage “Certain is Better” commercials featuring Tracy Morgan (USA Today). Those ads received an average ranking of 7.4 and 7.3 respectively. This year’s commercials heavily relied on stars, with 8 out of the top 10 ads featuring a top tier celebrity. Included in those eight were Matthew McConaughey, Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, Drake, Will Ferrell, Dan Levy, Michael B. Jordan, and Tracy Morgan. In years past, many advertisements focused on comedy while this year heavily relied on A-list celebrities. While watching the Super Bowl, my roommate mentioned to me that she was confused on why companies spent millions of dollars to advertise during the Super Bowl. Her argument was that the brands that tend to run commercials were already big enough names and would probably not influence viewer’s current choices by running a funny advertisement. For example, we already know what Pepsi has to offer and just because it has a good commercial, would not make us change from Coke products. I rebutted saying that it spreads awareness and gets people talking about their brand when mentioning the ad, but her point still stood saying that just discussing the brand did not mean we would buy the product exclusively from watching the 30 seconds of airtime.
Part 2
DeleteThe halftime show featured on one of the only bright spots of the entire Super Bowl spectacle. Though it was not as exciting as past years with no surprise appearances, The Weeknd put on a good show that he fully funded and did not make any money from performing. Furthermore, he featured all black backup singers and dancers, something never seen before in the Super Bowl. He also made a call to himself in the performance by mocking his plastic surgery gauze through the dancers on the field. The best thing to come out of the entire Super Bowl was the memes that flooded social media featuring The Weeknd in the back of the stage in the bright lights. That meme was the highlight of the experience and has sparked some remarkable tweets.
Works Cited:
Napoli, Jessica. “Super Bowl Performer The Weeknd Reveals Why His Dancers Wore Face Bandages.” Fox News, FOX News Network, 8 Feb. 2021, www.foxnews.com/entertainment/super-bowl-the-weeknd-dancers-face-bandages.
Suter, Rick. “The Top 10 Super Bowl LV Ads, According to USA TODAY Ad Meter.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 8 Feb. 2021, admeter.usatoday.com/2021/02/08/the-top-10-super-bowl-2021-commercials/.
“USA TODAY Ad Meter.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, admeter.usatoday.com/.
Corey Kremberg PART 1
ReplyDeleteThe Super Bowl is not a game in America. The Super Bowl is a holiday. In fact, even as a 21-year-old, I still get that “Disney” feel when it is finally game time. The national anthem, the commercials, the fans screaming, the super bowl parties, and of course, the game! Growing up I always made sure I had plans on that day. However, things are different this year. I could go off on how Covid19 has changed our world forever. However, we both already know that. Nevertheless, there was something great about this year’s commercials that put a smile on my face. Big brands were taking a stand and holding back pushing out commercials on the biggest stage to help donate to Covid19 prevention. An article by the Associated Press called “Budweiser Joins Coke and Pepsi Brands in Sitting Out First Covid-Era Super Bowl” dove right into this and communicated their point well with its readers. The first aspect I grabbed from this article was that this was the first time since 1983 that a commercial surrounding its beer Budweiser would not be airing. The fact that made this powerful is that it had almost turned into a tradition to create a commercial for the Super Bowl. I remember the famous and hilarious “Whassup ad” they created. Their commercials became expected each year. However, they did stick to their word. A quote from the article states “instead, it’s donating the money it would have spent on the ad to coronavirus vaccination awareness efforts.” This is powerful and is going to keep their already good reputation in great standing. However, they are still running four minutes of advertisements on its other brands like Bud Light, and a few other seltzer flavored drinks. They state “Those are some of its hottest sellers, particularly among younger viewers.” This brings me into my next point about the style and type of commercials airing is slowly changing as Millennials and Gen Z begin taking up more of the majority of watchers. I even noticed some TikTok dances and songs strung around various commercials during the Super Bowl. This has me thinking about how advertising is changing as the newer generations take control.
Corey Kremberg PART 2
ReplyDeleteThere are some great examples of this in an article written in 2018 (the beginning of the TikTok takeover) written by Robert Williams called “NFL Teams with TikTok to Reach Gen Z”. Now just because this was written three years ago, does not mean it is not important. In fact, I believe everything in this article stands even stronger today than it was when it was written. The opening sentence explains what we have been talking about in class thus far. “The NFL's partnership with TikTok aims to reach younger audiences who are more likely than older generations to consume video content on mobile devices.” We discussed in class about the stream wars and how streaming keeps the attention longer with the help of few to no ads. According to this, there is only 41% of Gen Z watchers for the Super Bowl vs 75% of Baby Boomers. This is a gap that will soon hurt the NFL’s income if changes are not made in the advertising. They know that what worked for one generation may not work for another. In fact, they mention “55% of Gen Z boys and men are frustrated that traditional sports are overloaded with marketing messages, preferring to watch highlights instead full games to avoid ads.” This is a huge shift for all advertisers, and I think they are beginning to experiment and win with some of the new content they have supplied. In 2019, the NFL decided to create a TikTok with hopes of connecting with the younger generations. They began gaining a great following “the NFL's TikTok account had 278,000 followers and 3.3 million likes”. Now in 2021, the NFL’s TikTok has reached a whopping 6 million followers and 190.1 million likes. The growth over the past 3 years has not only been clear, it has been booming. This all in all, is the strategy to try and grow the NFL brand and expand. It also seems the NFL has not taken a bad hit since according to an article written by Megan Graham “CBS has Sold Virtually all of its Commercial Time for the Super Bowl” thirty-second spots are selling for 5.5 million dollars. This means it is still by far one of the largest amounts needed to be paid. In fact, these slots are very beneficial with the new market for 2021. As you know, many more people are home searching for work/jobs. This gives different companies a chance to shoot their shot at both helping others and themselves. This is prevalent with brands like Fiverr. In the article they explain “freelance marketplace Fiverr and used car retailer Vroom will appear on next month’s game after strength in a stay-at-home year.” A new market means new companies have the window to make a big impact and become a household name. Overall, the Super Bowl was a great success this year.
Citations
Megancgraham. “CBS Has Sold Virtually All of Its Commercial Time for the Super Bowl.” CNBC, CNBC, 27 Jan. 2021, www.cnbc.com/2021/01/27/cbs-has-sold-virtually-all-of-its-commercial-time-for-the-super-bowl.html.
Press, the Associated. “Budweiser, Coke, Pepsi Sit Out Super Bowl.” The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Jan. 2021, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/budweiser-joins-coke-and-pepsi-brands-in-sitting-out-first-covid-era-super-bowl.
Williams, Robert. “NFL Teams with TikTok to Reach Gen Z.” Marketing Dive, 4 Sept. 2019, www.marketingdive.com/news/nfl-teams-with-tiktok-to-reach-gen-z/562219/.
Jack Higgins
ReplyDeleteMedia has been rapidly changing over recent years and its influence is undeniable. One demonstration of how valuable media attention can be is the Super Bowl and its commercials. A tradition of the Super Bowl is advertisers planning the most eye catching commercial they can create for the big game. It is the price these advertisers are willing to pay that shows how valuable this media attention is, “Thirty-second spots on the advertising’s biggest night have been selling for $5.5 million or slightly higher” (Graham). Despite this heavy price, the demand for these spots is still high “Ad inventory for the Super Bowl is ‘virtually’ sold out for the Feb. 7 game” (Graham).
However, despite the spots being sold out, there is still some hesitation from some big brands. The Hollywood Reporter explains how this year was different for some advertisers, “For the first time since 1983, when Anheuser-Busch used all of its ad time to introduce a beer called Bud Light, the beer giant isn’t advertising its iconic Budweiser brand during the Super Bowl” (The Hollywood Reporter). This year is difficult for some brands in terms of trying to find the appropriate tone in commercials. With the impacts of COVID, ads could come off as with the wrong tone being either too down putting or too lighthearted with the serious pandemic going on. It creates a risk for advertisers and could explain brands choosing not to advertise this year.
In terms of the Super Bowl being a platform for performers, this year’s game is a great demonstration of how important this stage is. The Weeknd was the performer for this year’s halftime show and a report from Forbes shows how invested he was to this opportunity, “the artist had spent $7 million of his own money to fund the show. Artists typically don’t cover the costs for the show (and they also don’t get paid), making it apparent that this performance was more than just a performance” (Julious). I believe this information clearly shows that opportunity to perform on this stage has extreme value. The willingness to put forward that much of his own money shows that the investment, in addition to not getting paid, is worth it based on the benefit of performing on that stage.
I believe the Super Bowl is as influential as ever based on the value that advertisers and performers put into the opportunity of being apart of the showcase. All of the commercial spots being filled, despite it being a risky year, in addition to the investment made by this year’s performer, shows from a financial standpoint how significant the platform is. Even in a strange year, there is plenty of demand to be apart of this event as it brings in interest across the country.
"Budweiser Joins Coke and Pepsi Brands in Sitting Out First COVID-Era Super Bowl." Associated Press (via The Hollywood Reporter) 25 Jan. 2021,
Graham, Megan. "CBS Has Sold Virtually All of Its Commercial Time for the Super Bowl." CNBC 27 Jan. 2021,
Julious, Britt. “Review: The Weeknd’s Super Bowl halftime performance was an expensive nothing.” Chicago Tribune 07 Feb. 2021,
Chris Giorgio
ReplyDelete2/08/21
Prof.Burns
MSS450
Super Bowl
Super Bowl commercials have become part of the excitement for the first Sunday in February. There are some people who just specifically watch for the commercials and each year companies spend millions of dollars for these 30 second time slots to make a good impression upon the viewers. I personally have been a fan of watching these big corporations making these interesting commercials with big names and they have become truly entertaining. However, this year, according to the Hollywood Reporter, Companies like Budweiser, Coke, and Pepsi, have decided to sit out from this year’s advertising and focus their money and efforts to help the ongoing pandemic. Which every year these companies make great ads and I enjoy watching them and I can say I did miss them this year as the commercials in my opinion were not very impressive. Although, one commercial I did like came from Bud Light.
This Budlight commercial showed tons of stars including the Bud Knight and Post Malone which I thought was quite entertaining. Another great commercial and my favorite was Drake from State Farm. Where multi-platinum recording artist Drake was in the commercial with “Jake” From State Farm and offered a funny play on the name. This was a surprise for me and an awfully good one (Cnet). In this commercial was also Patrick Mahomes who is the Quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs who was also great to see in the commercial, but did not have the best day on the field.
As a New York Jets fan, I have given up on my team doing remotely anything positive and have found other teams and players to watch and root for. Patrick Mahomes has become a player who I like to watch and root for most of the time. In this Super Bowl he tried, he was scrambling and making incredible passes that simply hit his teams in the face, and they still could not catch it. Respect given to Tampa Bay for playing great defense, but this was not the turn out I hoped for. Watching a good amount of Chiefs games this year they did not play the same way they always do and that cost them the game sadly. Despite, Mahomes having a foot injury and getting a concussion a few weeks back he tried his best and sadly lost.
With all the negatives I just gave for this years Super Bowl I still believe it was not the worst and I actually cannot say it was a terrible game or as bad as the Rams vs. Patriots 2 years ago. Watching Tom Brady win his 7th Super Bowl ring was watching history and something I can tell others in the future when I’m old and say I witnessed history.
Works Cited
Press, the Associated. “Budweiser, Coke, Pepsi Sit Out Super Bowl.” The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Jan. 2021, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/budweiser-joins-coke-and-pepsi-brands-in-sitting-out-first-covid-era-super-bowl.
Kooser, Amanda. “Super Bowl 2021 Commercials: See the Best, Funniest, Most Uplifting Ads.” CNET, www.cnet.com/news/super-bowl-2021-commercials-see-the-best-funniest-most-uplifting-ads/.
Alex Hazarian
ReplyDeletePart 1
Super Bowl ads have been viral over the past years as it has been an opportunity to meet a vast audience due to the number of viewers it has per season. Reports show that this year’s super bowl commercial time has been virtually sold out, but the intriguing part is that most of the slots have been sold out to newcomer advertisers (Graham). It is seen that most of the big brands that usually have airtime on super bowls have held back, leaving those slots for other companies that need to advertise. The changing media environment has influenced the super bowl’s relevance to advertisers, performers, and the NFL.
Typically, super bowl ads are quite expensive, but companies have always considered these ads worth it. However, changes in the world have made these companies re-think their decision to advertise during the super bowl game. For instance, the current global pandemic will be affecting the number of people attending the event due to safety guidelines that require people to observe social distancing. This means that, although the game will still be aired on television channels, the viewership might be affected. The number of viewers is expected to go down by a certain fraction. Most companies are opting to refocus their money on other things than spend too much money on a thirty-second ad. With the advancement in technology, the media environment has changed because many social platforms that can be used to do ads and can help reach a bigger following at any time of the day or year, unlike the super bowl ads. Platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have proven to be quite useful in advertising (The Hollywood Reporter). They can be accessed any time of the day and, the number of users is also quite large. The super bowl ads do have viewership, but can only run during the period of the game.
Part 2
ReplyDeleteThe media’s impact on the super bowls’ influential power tends to lie more on the positive side. Social media allows for more online conversations and has given people chances to interact online as they watch the game. Topics about a particular event are becoming trends online. For instance, people may start talking about a specific performance during the game and it might end up trending. Such trends have the potential of getting attention from other media users who were initially not interested in watching the game. Other than the NFL, advertisers and performers gain more benefit when showcasing during the super bowl. The media has helped increase the popularity and profitability of the NFL (Lee Burton et al 15). The televising of games allowed fans flexibility in the sense that they can watch the game from any point. This means that the media is essential for the relevance of the NFL. The broadcasters and the NFL have over the years continued to innovate ideas that help the NFL to remain at the top of the game by creating better experiences with the advancements in media. Since television provides networks with advertising, NFL benefits from viewership and money charged for the ads. This means that the super bowl remains influential to the advertisers, performers, and the NFL.
In conclusion, commercials and halftime shows and the super bowl game are still very effective despite the changes in media. In fact, the media increases the opportunity for recognition as it will have people talking for a while. Online trends have contributed to the success of commercials and performances done during the game.
Work Cited
Graham, M., 2021. CBS has sold virtually all of its commercial time for the Super Bowl. [online] CNBC. Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/27/cbs-has-sold-virtually-all-of-its-commercial-time-for-the-super-bowl.html
Lee Burton, Jennifer et al. "The Impact Of Airing Super Bowl Television Ads Early On Social Media." N.p., 2021. Print.
The Hollywood Reporter. 2021. Budweiser, Coke, Pepsi Sit Out Super Bowl. [online] Available at: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/budweiser-joins-coke-and-pepsi-brands-in-sitting-out-first-covid-era-super-bowl
Hayley Cuttitta
ReplyDeletePart 1
2020 was a year of great change for everyone and everything all over the world. One thing greatly affected was sports, and the huge event of the Super Bowl. COVID-19 did not affect the Super Bowl of 2020, but this year’s game was changed. I think the reach of the Super Bowl this year went far and wide because of the pandemic. Although not many people were happy with the teams playing, they said they were going to watch the game because there wasn’t much else for them to do. The idea of spending around $5 million for a commercial during the Super Bowl seems crazy, but due to the incredibly wide audience of viewers, those buying the ads must feel it is worth it to spend the money for the advertisement. Megan Graham stated in an article on CNBC that, “Though the Super Bowl has always represented a rare opportunity for advertisers to get American eyeballs on their brand, it’s been a difficult and uncertain year for many businesses” that can be looked at negatively, but because of so many people being home, they had easier access and a better reason to watch the Super Bowl and be interested in the ads and halftime show. (Graham 2021). Some companies decided to sit this year out. These include the brands Budweiser, Coke, and Pepsi. There was a good reason as to why Budweiser didn’t participate this year stated in an article by the Hollywood Reporter, “For the first time since 1983… the beer giant isn't advertising its iconic Budweiser brand during the Super Bowl. Instead, it’s donating the money it would have spent on the ad to coronavirus vaccination awareness efforts” which is a really good move for a company that size to make (Associated Press 2021). Pepsi did not participate in order to sponsor the halftime show. The other popular brands that did not participate in paying for a commercial just decided not to participate all together this year.
Hayley Cuttitta
DeletePart 2
Some viewers do not like ads though. The popularity of the Super Bowl makes on think of the iconic commercials and halftime show, but this does not go for everyone. Robert Lloyd says in an article from the Los Angeles Times that, “As a critic, I watch screeners and subscribe to streamers, and there is a button on a remote control that allows me to skip through the ads on anything I’ve recorded off commercial television” which shows a good example that often people don’t want to see commercials unless they have to (Lloyd 2021). The halftime show this year was really interesting and different compared to past performances. The stage for the show was actually built into the stands of the arena because of so many seats being open due to COVID. The Weeknd actually gave $7 million of his own money towards his Super Bowl performance. He definitely wanted to make a strong impact with his solo performance, which he did. With all of the backup dancers and large groups they were smart having them wear masks as a part of their costumes. As the media has dramatically changed over the past few years and will continue to change every day, a lot has changed for traditional shows and performances on live TV. The Super Bowl this year as it seems on social media had a big influence on its audience and viewers, maybe even more so than the past with how quick everything travels on social media. This may not always be the case from here on out though once the pandemic gets under better control and people start to go out again, they won’t be as interested in staying inside watching TV as much.
Graham, Megan. “CBS Has Sold Virtually All of Its Commercial Time for the Super Bowl.” CNBC, CNBC, 27 Jan. 2021, www.cnbc.com/2021/01/27/cbs-has-sold-virtually-all-of-its-commercial-time-for-the-super-bowl.html.
Lloyd, Robert. “It's Time We Stop Caring About Super Bowl Ads. But at Least We Have Cookie Monster.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 Feb. 2021, www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2021-02-07/super-bowl-2021-ads-review.
Press, the Associated. “Budweiser, Coke, Pepsi Sit Out Super Bowl.” The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Jan. 2021, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/budweiser-joins-coke-and-pepsi-brands-in-sitting-out-first-covid-era-super-bowl.
The super bowl is still one of the biggest sporting events in the world, even during a global pandemic. People tend to look forward to the ads during the super bowl since they usually have big budgets and witty humor that weirdly brings people together. The night before the super bowl there was a show about the best super bowl ads to ever air. They were ranking ads, yup, ads. There is no other sporting event that has this kind of pull on viewers, where people, like my family, make sure no one is talking during the commercials. Personally I enjoy these commercials, but the cost of an ad outweighs the chance of it really touching someone. A 30 second ad will cost a company $5.6 million which is $186,666 per second (Su, McDowell, Insider) ViacomCBS had the rights to the super bowl and they did a good job this year considering the circumstances. They sold all of their ad airtime weeks before the super bowl had aired, even though some major advertisers like Budweiser, and Coca Cola decided to sit this one out (Graham, CNBC) The cost of the ads put a lot of companies off the idea, since many have lost a lot of money due to the pandemic. In my opinion I think these major brands that sat out this Super Bowl are making the wrong decision. I understand it from a money perspective, but with the way streaming is taking over, there are not too many events like this to get a lot of eyeballs on their ads. Streaming has created a way to avoid ads all together and with more and more people joining in the world of streaming, big events with ads are dissipating. Another reason some companies are skipping over ads for the Super bowl this year was the idea that it just wouldn’t be that exciting to people. There is a lack of excitement because of the pandemic and it has really taken the wind out of a lot of peoples sails for content that you have to skip through ads to watch. A professor from the Hollywood Reporter article said it best “‘We have a pandemic that is casting a pall over just about everything,” said Paul Argenti, Dartmouth College professor of corporate communication. “It’s hard to feel the exuberance and excitement people normally would.”’ (AP, HollywoodReporter) This is why you see a lot of streaming services revenues go up since people want the premium option now with no ads. A lot of people when I was in high school had Hulu with ads and that was the only streaming service they had. Now, I don’t think I know anyone anymore that doesn’t have some sort of premium streaming service. The actual game was pretty boring, I called a blowout for Tampa Bay and I was right, was I happy about it? Eh. The halftime performance was good although I’m not the biggest fan of The Weeknd's music, so it didn’t pull me in that much. There was a lot of talk about his performance on social media though, with new memes and reviews. This halftime show still has it’s amazing pull since the Prince iconic halftime show that most people won’t ever forget. Artists should always say yes when asked to do a Super bowl halftime show for their music and brand, although a lot of people don’t agree with some of the NFL’s moral stances so I understand why some would still pass. Overall I’m happy they had the Super Bowl go on for a sense of normalcy in the world, and hopefully, it doesn't turn into a super spreader like some health officials were worried about.
ReplyDeleteGraham, Meghan. “CBS Has Sold Virtually All of Its Commercial Time for the Super Bowl.” CNBC, CNBC, 27 Jan. 2021, www.cnbc.com/2021/01/27/cbs-has-sold-virtually-all-of-its-commercial-time-for-the-super-bowl.html.
Press, the Associated. “Budweiser, Coke, Pepsi Sit Out Super Bowl.” The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Jan. 2021, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/budweiser-joins-coke-and-pepsi-brands-in-sitting-out-first-covid-era-super-bowl.
Su, Ruobing. “How Super Bowl Ad Costs Have Skyrocketed over the Years.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 2 Feb. 2020, www.businessinsider.com/super-bowl-ad-price-cost-2017-2.
Caleb Joseph Wood
ReplyDeleteIt was very interesting to view this year’s Super Bowl as the advertising platform it essentially is, especially when compared to Super Bowls in years past. As I was watching the game I didn’t notice much of a difference in the ads and commercials, but once I thought about it after the fact and then read this week’s readings I realized just how different things were this year. What I was most surprised by was the absence of some major companies that have become the staple of Super Bowl commercials. Some of these companies that decided to sit this year out include Budweiser, Coke, and Pepsi (Giardina). This was very strange to me because of how iconic their ads have been for almost the entire history of the Super Bowl. What was even stranger to me was the fact that I didn’t even realize their absence, despite thinking of Super Bowl ads and these companies going hand in hand. I’d hypothesize that I was not the only one who didn’t notice these companies weren’t advertising and I think because of that we can expect to start seeing a major change in the companies that we do see every Super Bowl. These major companies may stop seeing the value in the Super Bowl’s exposure, which would open things up for lesser known companies to take advantage of it and truly benefit more than a company like Budweiser or Coke. Despite choosing to pass on the Super Bowl commercials this year, Budweiser still made decisions that would bring positive attention to their brand. Instead of spending paying for the ad spot, Budweiser decided to donate the money they would have spent to vaccination awareness (Giardina). Although they weren’t seen during the Super Bowl, this donation will certainly work in a similar fashion as an ad to create a positive brand image. Meghan Graham of CNBC also sees this trend of smaller, lesser known companies beginning to be seen more often during the Super Bowl ad slots. She describes how during this tumultuous year where the major companies I’ve mentioned are choosing to opt out of Super Bowl ads, companies such as Mercari, Fiverr, and Vroom were all able to buy ad space (Graham). I believe this change in which companies we see during the Super Bowl is a positive one that is giving a chance to smaller companies to be seen during the greatest advertising moment of the year. A Forbes article released the day of the game predicted these changes that we saw. Forbes describes this shift in the companies we saw, but also described how the content was going to change as well. It describes how the commercials were going to reflect the post-Covid world we are now living in and often have Covid related messages. This was definitely evident in commercials with messages about getting through this together, vaccine awareness, and no large gatherings shown (Fitzgerald). Ad content has definitely shifted since the beginning of the pandemic, but it was interesting to see how companies were going to present this shift during the biggest opportunity of the year. Lastly, I found it very interesting to look at USA Today’s ad meter, specifically to look at the Paramount Plus ads. The highest rated Paramount Plus ad came in at 27, which was very shocking to me (USA Today). Not only was I keeping an eye out for their ads because of our discussions in class, but I personally really enjoyed them, so I was shocked to see they were rated so low on the list. I’m sure CBS was hoping to see more success with their star filled commercials, but based off this meter it doesn’t seem they accomplished what they were hoping for, considering it was free advertisement since CBS aired the game.
Sources
Fitzgerald, Toni. “What's Different About Super Bowl Ads This Year.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 7 Feb. 2021.
Giardina, Carolyn. “Budweiser, Coke, Pepsi Sit Out Super Bowl.” The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Jan. 2021.
Graham, Megan. “CBS Has Sold Virtually All of Its Commercial Time for the Super Bowl.” CNBC, CNBC, 27 Jan. 2021.
“USA TODAY Ad Meter.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 8 Feb. 2021.