What Do Ad Experts Expect from Super Bowl 58?
The game of games is right around the corner, and already the excitement levels are high. Whether you’re a Kansas City Chiefs fan, a San Francisco 49ers fan, a Taylor Swift fan or simply a fan of all the food, friends and festivities that come along with the Super Bowl, it’s certainly one of the most hotly anticipated events - sporting or otherwise - of the year.
Of course, for us at LBB HQ, as well as countless other casual Super Bowl viewers, Sunday’s game means much more than just a game of American football. The touchdowns are electrifying, the crowd is intoxicating, the drama of it all… it’s intriguing, yes. But for the advertising world, when the play stops, and the teams huddle, that is when the game truly begins.
Whether it’s ambitious blockbuster-level action, hilariously unexpected celeb cameos, self-aware anti-ads or social media activations, Sunday 11th will be a veritable battle of the brands - and the winner is us, watching comfortably from the sidelines.
As more teasers and early showings drop by the day, LBB’s Ben Conway spoke with some of adland’s leaders from all corners of the industry to hear what they expect to see at Super Bowl 58.
Giving their predictions are representatives from: Company 3, The Martin Agency, Droga5 NY, M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment, Mother, Havas New York, McCann New York, adam&eveDDB, Framestore, the ANA, RPA, Momentum Worldwide, Pereira O’Dell, Catch + Release, Walrus, Noble People, 62ABOVE and The Romans.
More than an Ad
With the Super Bowl season creeping earlier and earlier each year, the post-game promotions lasting longer, and more avenues to reach football fans than ever before, our experts expect successful brands to create a campaign that goes beyond just the $7m 30-second spots.
Fernando "Bisnaga" Passos
Creative director at Pereira O’Dell
We’re not just competing against other brands anymore – we’re fighting against different types of content for consumer attention. Forget teasers and ‘leaking’ the big game spot. That’s boring. If you want to win this battle, you need to think beyond the 30-second spot. Use the ad as a starting point for something bigger, funnier, richer and more fascinating. The winner will put on the greatest show. The Super Bowl in Vegas will have an audience of over 200 million. It’s not just advertising, it’s showbiz, baby.
Taylor Wiegert
VP, group planning director at The Martin Agency
With everyone taking a similar approach in their products and tone, brand actions will be the things that break through. Following the success of last year’s ‘Kick of Destiny’, I’m looking forward to seeing how other brands use their spots to set up real-world brand actions - whether it’s winning a bet in Vegas, selling your house in real-time, hacking the spot to showcase a product demo (e.g. Tubi) or something else.
David Brown
Executive creative director at adam&eveDDB
As marketing budgets shrink (and the cost of a 30-second spot in the game skyrockets), I think we’ll see more and more brands try to ‘hack’ the Super Bowl. This seems to be an increasingly popular brief and some fun work has come out of it. Volvo comes to mind. And Skittles. I love the DoorDash ‘delivering the ads’ idea this year and think it could get some traction with folks outside the industry, which I suspect is always the concern with these types of things. I bet we see a few more of these hacking ideas.
Paul Anastasiadis
President at M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment
Before the game even kicks off we are used to seeing teasers-to-the-teasers, ads-for-the-ads and celebrities spruiking their roles and breaking the fourth wall on morning TV - all geared toward winning the earned media advantage and maximising consumer attention before a ball is kicked! I love to watch the interesting and ingenious ways brands try to positively intercept their consumer at all the various touch-points around the game.
Tom Christmann
Executive creative director at Catch+Release
Last year, Doritos featured rapper Jack Harlow with Missy Elliot and Elton John. This time they didn’t immediately say who would be in the ad, posting a picture of the person from behind in a bodega instead, leaving it to the rest of us to start guessing. They then posted a teaser video revealing that the celebrity was Jenna Ortega. To be continued…
The Takeaway: Going with a celebrity is a tried and true path for Super Bowl advertisers. Adding an element of suspense by ‘teasing’ the identity of your star is a great way to get some pre-game buzz. But frankly, I wonder why Doritos ever gave up its unique and engaging ‘Crash The Super Bowl’ campaign. You’d think, with everyone being a creator these days, they’d be able to get some awesome stuff. In comparison, using a celeb – even one as awesome as Jenna Ortega – feels safe. But I’ll give them points for the mystery, I guess.
Parisa Howard
VP, group director, NA at Momentum Worldwide
In light of the current economic challenges, it is likely that we will witness an increase in collaborative advertising initiatives. Brands will join forces with their brand and/or content partners in order to maximise their resources. We should also expect brands to prioritise multi-channel engagement strategies to help stretch their Super Bowl ad investment through social and digital campaigns that build anticipation, and follow-up campaigns that harness excitement and drive engagement.
Indra Gardiner Bowers
CEO and founder at 62ABOVE
A Super Bowl ad has broad media coverage potential, extending far beyond the post-game confetti cleanup. Super Bowl ad coverage begins weeks before the game with sneak peeks and critic's picks… The Super Bowl is a marketing pinnacle where success involves breakthrough creativity and strategic PR. Some ads garner positive PR through celebrity allure or innovation, while others have the power to shift the brand narrative, creating buzz for all the right reasons - think Tide's rebound from the ‘Tide Pod Challenge’ with David Harbour's 2018 Super Bowl ads. Super Bowl ad buys guarantee eyeballs, but genuine PR success is earned. Agencies that offer the impact of great creative while seamlessly blending PR will be the true winners of the game, finding integrated success that resonates long after the final whistle.
Sarah Jenkins
US partner, EVP at The Romans
[I want] more interaction. Make me get up out of my chair, literally… and not just for that dip. Where I think brands can win this year is through interactive programming - a la how Amazon with their first ever Black Friday game. Make it something consumers get something excited about. Give them things to win. Give them an opportunity to meet the players. Give them an opportunity to BE in the next big game ad. In a way, this is the new frontier for truly experiential programming.
Jeremy Fox
Executive producer at Droga5 NY
I expect to see QR codes that will pop up on a slew of ads trying to drive traffic online. Mountain Dew filling the Bellagio fountains and shooting Baja Blast 460 feet into the air. Charmin all over the craps tables. Jack Black playing blackjack to promote a casino’s new betting app. Wham-O to start trending again when they turn the Vegas strip into one giant Slip ’n Slide… TikTok will completely take over the Super Bowl and somehow organise the crowd to dance along to the Beatles anthem, Twist and Shout.
Appealing to Gen Z
This multi-channel, experience-forward approach is also something that appeals to gen z audiences, perhaps most notably through their TikTok habits.
Shayne Millington
Chief creative officer at McCann New York
Generation z is redefining the fandom around football and therefore advertisers need to adjust their thinking or how they approach the game. Unlike previous generations, gen z's relationship with the game is not confined to TV - it's integrated into their online lives. TikTok and Instagram have become virtual stadiums to share highlights, memes, and opinions in real-time. So you may see campaigns shift away from traditional broadcast models to more interactive and personalised experiences and edgier or more memeable topics can create conversations online. You will [also] see newer advertisers in the game like gen z favourites NYX and Nerds.
Tom Christmann
Executive creative director at Catch+Release
PepsiCo, is collaborating with Grammy-nominated rapper Ice Spice for the Super Bowl debut of their new lemon-lime product, Starry. They launched with a POV teaser ad in which the Bronx-born rapper sees her ‘ex’ walk into a bar. The identity of the ‘ex’ is not revealed.
The Takeaway: If you’re going to use a celebrity, go big. And there’s nobody bigger than Ice Spice among the target audience for Starry, a product that was engineered from the ground up to sell to gen z. Before you choose who to partner with, be sure you understand what resonates with your target audience to amplify your brand's message and reach. PepsiCo has done their homework. I predict Starry sales will go “‘g’rahhh”. (That’s a good thing in Munch-speak).
Can You Go Wrong with the Classics?
The impact of celebrity endorsements and the attraction of familiarity are tried and tested methods of success, even if they seem a bit tired to the more jaded viewer. Despite a heightened focus on a new generation meaning new marketing tactics could appear, is there something to be said for going back to ol’ faithful? Or will TikTok campaigns and AI-written ads be the talk of the town post-Super Bowl 58?
Parisa Howard
VP, group director, NA at Momentum Worldwide
A theme I could do without or see toned down this year is the heavy focus on throwbacks. Ads last year traded heavily on nostalgia between references to Grease, Clueless, Caddyshack, the list goes on. The trips down memory lane were fun, but I’m hoping brands take a fresh approach this year.
Daniel Weisman
Group media director at Noble People
It will be overrun with ads created by or featuring AI. Most will be terrible. Lots of articles after the game will lament the death of creativity, driven by AI.
Krystina Wilson
Executive vice president of advertising, US at Framestore
We're ushering in a generation of consumers where storytelling is king. What better way to creatively engage your audience by showcasing what you sell and what you value as a brand than a representative in the form of a beloved character? This past year, we have seen a massive resurgence of the brand character or mascot… It's undeniable that [CG] characters possess an innate ability to evoke empathy and exhibit natural comedic behaviours, reactions and habits that universally resonate with viewers. They forge profound connections, consistently delivering brand messaging that resonates with diverse audiences.
Joe Baratelli
EVP, chief creative officer at RPA
Brands are smart to exploit the marketing equity they have built. A fragmented media audience is the bane of any big brand’s existence these days, and using the largest ad audience of the year to broaden your brand story is a good idea. So, watch for brands to bring comfort and familiarity with the tried and true. People are happy to see and hear about things they know, and they want to engage with characters or storylines they’ve encountered before.
Look for the return of the E*Trade baby, the Budweiser Clydesdales, and the Coors Light Silver Bullet train coming back into the station as well as Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, OREO twisting things up, the M&Ms making something. And Dove to promote body confidence for girls.
On Super Bowl Sunday, all eyes, not to mention the press that swirls around, will be on the premier audience-building opportunity for brands. Seeing the familiar, a spin-off, the star you love, or connection to the past hits just makes sense.
Playing for Laughs
Humour is a staple of the Super Bowl ad - and this year promises to highlight this more than ever.
Taylor Wiegert
VP, group planning director at The Martin Agency
Heading into what is going to be a year of heightened anxiety, I expect brands to double down on humour, fun, and feel-good messaging, especially given the saturation of celebrity-driven snack spots slated for the game.
Christine Guilfoyle
President at ANA SeeHer
We predict that in 2024, marketers will rely on humour more than before to cut through the clutter, but we also know from Gender Equality Measurement (GEM®) global data that humour drives down scores, so marketers need to find a delicate balance. Those brands that do succeed in accurate representation score an above average GEM® ranking, and last year saw a 19% increase in brand reputation and a 9% increase in calls to action and overall, a positive lift in brand health. We hope brands score on representation and belonging at Super Bowl LVIII and don’t fumble getting caught up in humour.
While we all like to have a laugh, some of our experts fear that the comedy can be overplayed, rendering it ineffective and a barrier to standing out from the crowd.
Daniel Weisman
Group media director at Noble People
Most of the ads will take funny too far. Unhinged, crazy ads will dominate. It will be too much. We’ll all want a little more heart-string pulling ads next year.
Deacon Webster
Co-founder and chief creative officer at Walrus
I’m sure this year’s Super Bowl will feature a lot of spots that are aiming for humour. The brands that will make the ‘funniest’ spots, will be the ones that take some chances and don’t over think it too much.It’s such a big expenditure that there’s a lot of pressure on the execution to be great, which ironically diminishes the chances at greatness.
Back to Basics
With all the extravagant effects, wild attempts at humour, different social activations, teasers, QR codes, the list goes on… many of the experts believe that stripping things back to the core of a simple idea or insight will be the key to success this year. It’s about doing the small things well, and not overcomplicating it.
Deacon Webster
Co-founder and chief creative officer at Walrus
Watching the spots, you can just hear the group saying, ‘We need more star power, get Joe Montana AND Danny DeVito… screw it, let’s get J. Lo too’. Ultimately it becomes more about spending money than being entertaining. I always like the simpler ones that are just a great idea. Liquid Death with the kids partying, Monster.com with the kids, E*Trade Monkey, Reddit. But those are ideas that you have to just buy into and charge ahead, which is hard to do.
Sarah Jenkins
US partner, EVP at The Romans
[I’m looking for] less gimmicky, formulaic comedian plays. While I love a funny moment - and 2024 is being dubbed the year brands get less serious and more hysterical - I just think it’s been done. What we could do with more of is brands leaning into niche things consumers love in a funny way. Get weird! Think back, for example, to when Meta did its first Super Bowl campaign. They highlighted groups of people who love rocks (rock and roll, rocking chairs and actual, well, rocks). And then brought in Sly Stallone and Chris Rock to give it lift. It wasn’t solely reliant on the big names, they just added some additional flair.
Paul Anastasiadis
President at M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment
Each year, it feels as though more brands are tapping insights about the actual act of buying and making a Super Bowl spot. While clever, these campaigns tend to move away from what feels like the most impactful use of the mass attention - celebrating or subverting consumer-centric insights around the game itself. It's clear consumers anticipate celebrity-laden Super Bowl ads, but we’re sceptical of whether that extends to the ‘inside baseball’ marketing references that seem to be more and more prevalent.
SB Stands for Show Business
Although our experts hope for this shift to simplicity, they also anticipate it to likely continue swinging in the other direction. Although it’s not hosted in LA this year, each Super Bowl continues to become more ‘showbiz’ than the last - and the bright lights and ostentatious casino settings of Vegas may only encourage this.
Paul Anastasiadis
President at M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment
Overall, we anticipate the level of audacity in the creative to go into overdrive in 2024. Evocative stories. High production value. Big product announcements. Major of-the-moment celebrities (and bringing back a few classics). Game breaks might start to feel more akin to watching multi-million dollar summer blockbusters than ‘ads’. With the NFL being blessed with the Taylor Swift effect throughout this season and the clash of two storied NFL franchises, they could be looking at one of the biggest broadcast audiences for the Super Bowl in recent memory — brands will want to leave it all out on the field!
Daniel Weisman
Group media director at Noble People
It will be the ‘ad tier bowl’. Amazon, Netflix, and Disney will run big, in-game trailers touting their new ad tiers to drive subscribers. I also think one of these companies will unexpectedly drop a new episode of a hit show after the game to build hype. My money’s on Amazon dropping the season premiere of ‘The Boys’.
Fernando Passos
Creative director at Pereira O’Dell
2024 should be the year for entertainment ads. I’m very curious to see if anyone or any brand will outshine Taylor Swift in this Super Bowl. For me, her rise in the NFL is already the most interesting case study of the year. She has changed the NFL audience and dynamic – that’s a true example of ‘hijacking’ the event with incredible results.
The Taylor Swift Effect
We can’t talk showbiz without discussing the leading lady of Super Bowl 58. Although she’s not set to perform, or even attend the big game, the experts are certainly expecting the pop superstar’s presence to be felt as her boyfriend Travis Kelce takes the field.
David Brown
Executive creative director at adam&eveDDB
I suppose the whole thing could just become one big promo for Taylor’s new album. I’m here for it. She brought a whole new audience to the NFL and I suspect you’ll see that reflected in the advertising this year as influencers start to make their way into Super Bowl spots alongside the more mainstream celebs we’re used to seeing.
Nedal Ahmed
Executive creative director at Mother New York
I think brands will try to find legal ways to reference Taylor Swift being at the game. If not in the spots themselves, it’s definitely going to be part of their social plans.
Joe Burdon
Head of sport and entertainment at The Romans
Love her or hate her (mostly love her), the Swiftie invasion will reach an (anti) climax at Super Bowl when she almost certainly doesn’t make the 10-hour flight from Japan to perform, and probably doesn’t attend either. Not that it really matters at this point as the hype machine has done its thing and skyrocketed the price of tickets regardless.
Jeremy Fox
Executive producer at Droga5 NY
99 and 44/100% of brands will use celebrities in their TV ads, including our Paramount+ spot. A spot announcing a Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift reality TV show that will end in a marriage proposal and then a wedding on Pay-Per-View.
Dan Lucey
CCO and co-CEO at Havas New York
Our best advertising efforts will be no match for Taylor Swift. No clever celebrity cameo or A-List actor featured in an ad will be mighty enough to take on the omnipotent Tay Tay. Taylor will win the broadcast, the online chatter, the offline chatter, the first screen, the second screen, the third and the fourth. I predict she will even win the very game itself.
By kick-off, the NFL will announce they are renaming Super Bowl LVIII to Super Bowl LXXXIX Taylor’s Version. She will then win the halftime show even though she is not performing. She will win the broadcast, replacing Tony Romo in the booth, calling the play by play seamlessly and throwing out catchphrases, like ‘Shake It Off’ after a big hit or ‘Bad Blood’ to describe the conflict between two opposing players.
Then, she will win the actual game. Late in the fourth quarter, Taylor will miraculously appear on the field in a KC uniform. She will catch the winning touchdown pass on a flea flicker from Travis Kelce. It will be unconventional, but not unsurprising. It’s only fitting she would extend her domination of the event onto the field.
As she is presented the Lombardi trophy and the Super Bowl MVP, the stadium filled with swifties paying higher than normal ticket prices, will storm the field. They will tear down the goalposts and proceed to burn down the once-great city of Las Vegas in honour of their leader.
As Tay Tay stands among the ashes of casino dust and neon, she will announce her presidential run. You heard it here first.
Female Viewership
With Taylor Swift sparking what can only be described as a movement at this point, drawing more female fans than ever to the Super Bowl, people are also predicting how the brands will adjust to this influx - if at all.
Parisa Howard
VP, group director, NA at Momentum Worldwide
I’m hoping to see the massive wave of female empowerment fueled by the triumvirate of Barbie, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé continue to come through in Super Bowl marketing efforts.
Christine Guilfoyle
President at ANA SeeHer
The 2021 Super Bowl featured the highest representation of females in ads at 91%. Since then, the numbers have declined. Why does this matter? With women controlling $10T in spending and 85% of purchase decisions, getting it right for marketers means driving more sales from female viewers. The ‘She-conomy’ is surging, and my hope for this year is that Super Bowl advertising properly addresses the ‘She’.
The Sphere
There will be only one star bigger than Taylor Swift being discussed this year - several thousand times bigger, in fact. Of course, this is referring to Las Vegas’ OOH marketing pièce de résistance: The Sphere.
Jeremy Fox
Executive producer at Droga5 NY
As for activations, I think the new MSG Sphere will be a major player for different brands, so much so that it will look like a NASCAR-racing-team jacket by kickoff.
Nedal Ahmed
Executive creative director at Mother New York
The sphere, not unlike Super Bowl ads themselves, is a rare occasion when Americans actually care about a media buy. I’m really looking forward to seeing what brands manage to get on the sphere and what they actually put on it. I hope it’s very sphere-optimised.
Parisa Howard
VP, group director, NA at Momentum Worldwide
With so much attention and activity focused on the strip in Las Vegas, including the NFL’s Super Bowl Experience and nearby Allegiant Stadium, brands have a terrific and concentrated opportunity to reach the large influx of consumers from an experiential and out-of-home (OOH) perspective.
That being said, marketers will need to work hard to stand out with so much activity vying for consumer attention. We’ll likely see many brands go big, with whole venue takeovers or large-scale, eye-catching OOH deployments like building projections and wraps, 3D animated billboards and creative activations on highly visible real estate like The Sphere.
Ashley McKim
SVP, advertising services at Company 3
Brands will see various opportunities within Las Vegas itself. With the addition of the MSG Sphere, there is an opportunity for them to utilise it as a form of advertising. For example, the latest Uber Eats campaign that Company 3 worked on, which stars Victoria Beckham, could be developed into something fun for the Sphere.
Joe Burdon
Head of sport and entertainment at The Romans
I predict that those who use CGI to circumnavigate the reported $2m for advertising takeovers during Super Bowl week on The Las Vegas Sphere will see good value…especially compared to those who do the real thing. Either way it’s going to be exciting to see what is done.
