5 charts to change the way you think about Super Bowl advertising

This year’s Super Bowl ads will be defined by big stunts, from FanDuel’s live Gronk field goal attempt (we won’t be betting on this) to whatever M&M’s is doing with “Ma&Ya’s candy coated clam bites” (these we would bet on). Here are five charts on Super Bowl advertising.

1. Snacks need to crackle and pop

Inflation has consumers hunting for discounts, buying less, and trading down to private label. The food and beverage brands advertising during the Super Bowl will need to convince consumers to turn away from bargain brands.

The challenge isn’t new: Pringles, for example, must show viewers that they not only need potato chips, but that they need Pringles specifically. To do this, the snack company will “make consumers look” by featuring singer Meghan Trainor in an ad. The Kellogg Company-owned brand aims to win snack spend from fellow Super Bowl stars like Doritos and PopCorners (both owned by PepsiCo).

2. Why an ad for deals is a big deal

As painfully high inflation stretches on, customers continue to look for discounts, which are the leading driver of ecommerce purchases among US adults, according to First Insight. Rakuten, which is known in the US for offering ecommerce shoppers discounts and deals, will bring nostalgia to the big game with a “Clueless”-themed ad.

Beyond Rakuten, expect to see other ads that emphasize value this Sunday.

3. Uber goes premium

Uber is partnering with Sean Combs (or Puff Daddy, or P. Diddy—take your pick) to advertise Uber One, its premium membership.

Uber Eats was the third-most downloaded food and drink app last year, falling behind DoorDash and McDonald’s, according to Apptopia. And more than 1 in 5 (21.7%) people in the US are already Uber users, according to our forecast. Now Uber wants to turn its sometimes users into super users.

4. Productivity tools take the field

This year, Workday will make its Super Bowl debut with an ad featuring Ozzy Osbourne and Joan Jett. The software company is joined by a Squarespace ad featuring Adam Driver.

Business tools make sense in the big game. More than half (54%) of B2B marketers will spend more on customer marketing in 2023, according to a survey by Integrate and Demand Metric. With nearly two-thirds (65%) of B2B buyers falling between the ages of 18 and 40, according to the American Marketing Association, B2B ads need to cater to digital natives.

B2B marketing data spend will reach $3.77 billion this year, but while B2B marketers work to target key audiences, they’re not backing away from big-ticket campaigns like the Super Bowl.

5. Sports betting gets meta

Molson Coors and DraftKings teamed up to create a combined ad for the beverage company and sports betting site. Rival platform FanDuel will run a live ad during which former NFL star Rob Gronkowski will attempt to kick a field goal fans can bet on. (For our less sports-savvy readers, Gronk is not a kicker, so don’t bet too much.)

Online sports betting only became legal over the past few years in most states, so FanDuel and DraftKings are relative newcomers to Super Bowl advertising. But their impact is huge. As of July 2022, 6% of US adults had bet on sports online, according to Pew Research Center data. This year, we project 8.7% of US adults will wager online sports bets, for a total of 23.1 million people.

Post-game report: Big stunts are always in play during the Super Bowl, but this year they’ll be joined on the field by deals and discounts. B2B and productivity will also be playing to win over viewers. What else will happen during advertising’s biggest game? We’ll be watching.

This was originally featured in the Retail Daily newsletter. For more retail insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.