Super Bowl LIX isn't just a clash between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs - it's also a showdown for brands to compete for the most valuable ad slots on television.
With an estimated 120 million viewers watching on Fox and Tubi, companies poured hundreds of millions of dollars into commercials, all in a bid to captivate football fans across America.
According to Peter Bray, founder of ad agency Bray & Co., Super Bowl commercial costs have been creeping up every year.
In fact, per CBS News, a 30-second ad slot during Super Bowl LIX set companies back nearly $8 million!
In 2024, a 30-second spot cost $7 million, and in 2023, it was the same - marking a 55% jump from 2019. Bray predicts that in just three years, ad sales for the Super Bowl broadcast could hit $1 billion, an unprecedented milestone in advertising history.
"I think in three years it's going to hit a billion dollars in ad sales. And that has never before happened on the planet. That is the immensity of this event," Bray told CBS MoneyWatch.
So why do brands keep paying top dollar for these premium slots? The answer is simple - there's no bigger stage. "It's the advertising industry's Super Bowl as well," Bray explained. "It's the one time of year where the general public actually cares about advertising."
Unlike traditional ad campaigns, Super Bowl commercials don't just air and disappear, they become part of pop culture history. With social media amplifying their reach, brands can turn a 30-second spot into a global conversation.
Bray explained that in the age of digital media like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, advertisers often struggle to reach a huge audience all at once. Super Bowl Sunday solves that problem by engaging the audience in real-time.
"Someone might advertise as an advertiser on TikTok, or on Instagram... all of these different advertising opportunities. But you might be duplicating because the audience on TikTok, maybe 90% are the same audience on Instagram, so there's a lot of duplication," he said.
A-listers are a must-have in Super Bowl commercials, and their price tags are just as jaw-dropping as the ad slots themselves. Per the publication, brands will pay from $50,000 to several million dollars for a celebrity cameo.
For example, Ben Affleck reportedly made $10 million for starring in Dunkin's 2024 Super Bowl ad, his second time collaborating with the brand, CNN reported.
The Boston native first appeared in a 2023 Dunkin’ ad, which - thanks to its viral success - garnered 7 billion impressions and led to a multi-part campaign.
This year, Dunkin' upped the ante with a third Affleck-fronted commercial, bringing in his brother Casey Affleck and Succession star Jeremy Strong.
According to Bray, the company understands the power of pairing celebrities with brands that fit their personalities. "Ben Affleck is a great combination with Dunkin,'" he said. "Not because of him as an actor or director, but how he's perceived in popular culture."
"Jeremy Strong from 'Succession,' he's a kooky guy, but he's known as a method actor. Dunkin' knows this, they're connecting who these celebrities are as people rather than actors to the brands. And that makes for a really powerful ad," he added.
Super Bowl commercials weren’t always million-dollar investments.
Back in 1967, when the first Super Bowl aired, a 30-second ad cost just $37,500 on NBC and $42,500 on CBS. By 1995, that number had climbed past $1 million, and by 2017, it had skyrocketed to $5 million.
With brands now paying close to $8 million per spot, Super Bowl advertising has become a high-stakes game where only the biggest players can afford to compete.
To this day the most expensive Super Bowl commercial in history is Amazon’s "Mind Reader" ad from Super Bowl LVI in 2022. The 90-second commercial, starring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost, reportedly cost a staggering $26 million to produce.
On the other end of the spectrum, the cheapest ad ever made came from LifeMinders.com in 2000. The startup spent just $5,000 on its low-budget, text-based commercial, created by three in-house freelancers.
Despite its simplicity, the ad generated 700,000 website visits in a week - though, unfortunately, the company itself didn’t survive.
With millions of viewers, huge social media buzz, and the opportunity to create an iconic cultural moment, the Super Bowl remains not just football’s biggest night - but advertising’s ultimate stage.