Super Bowl Ads: Changing the viewer experience

Mark Dieckelman

For many people, the Super Bowl is celebrated every year with friends, family, etc. Whether they are die hard fans, or just watching for commercials, the Super Bowl is surely not going to disappoint millions of viewers. Many people are eager to watch the game, but when it comes to breaks, that’s when many people start to get excited. The Super Bowl is a major way to get customers to buy into major businesses, but there is a cost to how much money businesses can spend in a thirty second time slot.

The favorite time of the year for many people is the Super Bowl. Because the Super Bowl is one of the major events, the spot for thirty seconds for advertising is pretty costly.  In 2014, a 30-second spot is reportedly going for four million, up from 3.8 million in 2013(Killoran). As the Super Bowl is getting more and more popular, more businesses want to spend their money so they can get more business from viewers around the world. Due to this, the demand for that product goes up but the supplies for that product might go down. The Super bowl is so popular, companies are eager to buy a thirty second time slot so that they see their revenue and popularity go up.

Another factor that companies have to consider is how much the price goes up from year to year. Many big name companies are eager to buy ad space to sell their product, but the asking price may push away major companies because it is too much to pay for. In the last 14 years, the price of a Super Bowl ad has increased by an average 5.7% annually. At that rate, it would take another 13 years for the price to double to $7 million(Smith). This clearly shows that as the Super Bowl becomes more and more popular, the asking price for a thirty second spot becomes greater and greater, which may push companies away from that certain spot because it is too much to pay for enough though the demand is high during this time.

For companies to get their name out during this time, they have to pay a lot of money for a certain air time slot. Some companies spend more than others each year, which as a result may make the company have more leverage than the other. More well known companies will spend more so they can remain popular throughout the year.

What this graph illustrates is that Anheuser-Busch leads the way with how many years they want their Super Bowl ad in a certain time slot, and how much they paid for 11 years. Because they paid so much, their product remains popular, and so they gain revenue from the Super Bowl, which helps them stay in business longer.  

As the Super Bowl becomes more and more popular as time goes on, companies will have to spend more money because the cost of a thirty second spot goes up every year. Although the price might be too much for a certain company, they will have to budge into a spot so that they can stay in business and remain popular than those who dont. All in all, the Super Bowl is a very popular time, so businesses want to spend more so that the demand for their product goes up after their commercial airs during a break in the Super Bowl.

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