Last Sunday Skittles premiered its one performance broadway musical against Super Bowl advertising abuse. This is the second year that the brand tries to stand out among ad saturation during the Super Bowl final. In 2018 the sweets brand launched an ad so exclusive and tailored to its audinece that it was just targetted and shown to the most loyal fan of the brand a guy called .DDB Chicago is the agency responsible for the ceative strategy and facture in both sound campaigns that have provided Skittles with a high score in earned media with the subsequent media insertions savings for the brand. But not only Skittles has opted out the game in 2019.
Kantar Media preliminary report on Super Bowl LIII shows the 37 parent companies with messages in the 2018 game,13 (a 35%) were absent this year, resulting in an attrition rate below the average in the ten previous Super Bowls (2009-2018), but None of the three companies that were first-time participants in 2018 returned this year. Most sound absences in 2019 were Coca-Cola and Fiat Chrysler.
With six new ingame ad players, the rookie turnout at Super Bowl LIII was a bit smaller than the average, at 8 new advertisers per year. ADT, Bumble, Expensify, Mint Mobile, SimpliSafe and the Washington Post launched their commercial messages in the game for the first time in 2019.
Despite this, Kantar Media’s preliminary estimate of total ad spend from in-game spots is $382 million. When spenditures from pre-game and post-game programming are tabulated and included, the total revenue for the event should surpass the healthy amount of $450 million, up a 10.29% from the $408 million reached in 2018.
Over 49 minutes of ad time: ads down, while network promos go up
From the opening kickoff to the final whistle, Super Bowl LIII included 49 minutes, 45 seconds (49:45 mm:ss) of national commercials, the third largest amount in history.
The game itself lasted 3 hours, 32 minutes (including halftime) which means advertising accounted for 23% of the total broadcast. By comparison the length of a typical NFL regular season telecast is 187 minutes with commercials accounting for 42 minutes (22%) of the program.
Excluding unpaid promotional spots from CBS and the NFL, the game featured 37:25 mm:ss of national air time from paying sponsors which is the lowest amount since 2010. Meanwhile, network promos reached 9:55 mm:ss, the second highest volume in Super Bowl history.
Anheuser Busch InBev, top spender and Amazon the top growing
Anheuser Busch InBev was the top-spending company in the game and invested an estimated $59 million to purchase 5:45 mm:ss of air time. The runner up was Amazon.com which spent an estimated $25 million to air 2:30 mm:ss of messages.
Excluding the promotional messages aired by CBS and the NFL, there were a total of 57 in-game spots aired by 45 different advertisers and 38 unique parent company owners.
The difference in counts between advertisers and parent owners is due to some parents showing commercials from more than one of the advertisers they own. (Example: Pepsico accounted for three advertisers in the game – Bubly, Doritos and Pepsi), explains Kantar.
Automotive, Beer and Telecom top the categories ranking
Accounting for 6:30 mm:ss of ad time and an estimated $66 million investment auto manufacturers top advertisers rank by categories in Super Bowl for the tenth year in a row. Beer took the second spot with just one advertiser, Anheuser Busch InBev with with $54 million and 5:15 mm:ss of messages. Always following kantar data Telecom came third $46 million and 4:30 mm:ss.
The mentioned three categories accounted for over the 40% of the total commercial time purchased by paying advertisers.
Long form ads, still trending
Of the 57 in-game commercials from paying sponsors, 16 were one minute or longer. Auto manufacturers were again the most frequent users of long-length spots. Each of the six messages aired by an auto maker was either 60 or 90 seconds in length.
The conclussion is that Long-form ads had a significant presence in Super Bowl LIII
Most women centric Super Bowl ever
Toyota, Bumble, Procter & Gamble’s Olay and Michelob Ultra were among the brands that took the women’s power torch in Super Bowl LIII showing the female protagonist of their ads in a leading and self confidence attitude.
Zoe Krawitz played the starring role for Michelob, the leading tennis player, Serena Williams, for Bumble, the social networking app that give women the chance to take the first move. Olay showed the actress Sarah Michelle Gellar on her most “terrifying” role.
And last but not least strong, female football player Antoinette “Toni” Harris, takes the center role in Toyota’s RAV4 Hybrid commercial.
Leaving aside commercial brands, the same NFL showed the actual female’s twist in its 100 anniversary ad, featuring the 15 years old football player Samantha Gordon among every NFL legend alive in a banket that turns into an all star football game. She plays facing all the male legends as she did at home in a boys football league back in 2012 when she was 9 years old showing how talented she is in this sport.
But there’s still much to achieve in terms of gender parity in advertising during a game delivered to an audience composed in a 45% by Women.
Changes in message and role seem to evolve but the ad time devoted to messages targeting women and the number of girl protagonists in the ads still fall far behind the audience numbers.
Image over the headline.- 15 years old footaball player Samantha Gordon starring in NFL 100 years anniversary commercial for Super Bowl LIII. © NFL.
Related external links:
Serena Williams: Bumble Commercial Super Bowl 2019
Bumble x Serena Williams – #InHerCourt Anthem III
Olay Killer Skin | Super Bowl LIII Official Commercial
The Pure Experience | Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold Super Bowl 2019
Skittles: Exclusive the Rainbow (2018)
Skittles The Musical, Starring Michael C. Hall
Skittles The Musical Advertising Ruins Everything
Budweiser | Wind Never Felt Better | 2019 Super Bowl Commercial
Bud Light | Special Delivery | Super Bowl 2019
Not Everything Makes the Cut – Amazon Super Bowl LIII Commercial
Behind the Scenes of ‘100-Year Game’ Super Bowl LIII Commercial
