Big Game commercials: AI tools, pharma brands and women in the spotlight

Whether they’re football lovers, commercial lovers, passionate Taylor Swift fans or all of the above, Super Bowl LIX viewers will witness several firsts when the Kansas City Chiefs battle it out with the Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans this Sunday.

One first is Fox reaching a record price for ad slots, selling out last week with more than 10 of those commercials hitting $8 million, soaring above the previous record $7 million mark. Advertisers are placing a premium on the massive audience — last year’s game drew 123.4 million viewers, making it the most-watched U.S. broadcast ever.

Also for the first time, the Big Game streamed for free on Fox-owned Tubi and will show the same ads as the live broadcast, a monumental step in the connected TV space, as live sports continues to gain traction.

With Tubi’s nearly 100 million monthly active users, there’s an opportunity to reach new audiences, especially considering that 17 million people streamed the game illegally last year and Tubi is offering it for free, as Tubi CMO Nicole Parlapiano tells The Current Report.

“It’s really wonderful we can bring a full Super Bowl experience to the more casual side of Super Bowl fans,” says Parlapiano. Tubi has another spot in the Big Game this year, two years after Tubi released its first viral Super Bowl spot.

Some other firsts can be seen across the emerging commercial topics. For one thing, more spots will cater to women. Viewers can also expect a bigger presence from artificial intelligence and pharmaceutical brands, but fewer movie trailers, with a preference toward the longer, 60-second commercials, as Fox Sports’ Head of Sales Mark Evans told Ad Age. And some things never change, with celeb cameos still commanding screen time.

Women in the spotlight

Women are also becoming more of a Super Bowl target audience (partly thanks to the uptick in viewership from Taylor Swift’s boyfriend and Chiefs tight end, Travis Kelce). Tubi is streaming a red-carpet pregame show that’s geared more toward casual female fans, while Hellmann’s is bringing back one of the ’80s most popular rom-coms, with Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal reviving their roles in the iconic When Harry Met Sally diner scene.

Meanwhile, paramedical brand Novartis is highlighting the importance of screening for breast cancer. Uber Eats has teased a commercial with Martha Stewart and Charli XCX where they repeat the TikTok-trending tagline “They listen and they don’t judge.”

“Football has always been about bringing people together, and more than ever, we’re seeing new fans — especially women — join the conversation,” Beth Orozco, VP of marketing at Barefoot Wines (whose parent company is Gallo Winery), told Brand Innovators. Barefoot Wines is working with several influencers to create content around the game.

AI and pharma newbies

When it comes to AI, OpenAI is set to release its first commercial on Super Bowl Sunday. Salesforce will air two yet-to-be-released 30-second spots during the game, one of which will continue the “Agentforce. What AI Was Meant to Be.” campaign, starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. Meta is returning to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2022, running two 30-second spots where Chris Hemsworth and Chris Pratt wear Meta Ray-Ban glasses and asks questions to its AI.

GoDaddy will also promote its Airo AI tool with Walton Goggins’ Goggle Glasses.

Along with Novartis, telehealth brand Hims and Hers’ one-minute spot “Sick of the System” will promote weight-loss drugs.

Celebs galore

Still, some things never change: Celebrities are just as popular in Super Bowl spots as ever, and a tilt toward humor over drama continues to dominate the commercials.

“There’s a connection between celebrities and a built-in audience,” says Mark Fitzloff, founder of creative agency Öpinionated, who has worked on over a dozen Super Bowl commercials for brands like Coca-Cola, Chrysler, TurboTax and Weight Watchers. “That nervousness that goes into spending that much money for the Super Bowl — if you can have, right out of the gate, organic media of several million views on several social channels, that somehow eases the sting.”

After its 2023 controversy, Bud Light is back in the Super Bowl with a humorous spot featuring Post Malone, Shane Gillis and Peyton Manning, in which the trio have a cul-de-sac party.

Nerds is teasing its spot with musician Shaboozey.

And Drew Barrymore and Orlando Bloom star in MSC Cruises’ Super Bowl debut.

“In this climate of increased pressure on marketers and creativity, it’s an objective thing, not a subjective thing,” Fitzloff adds. “If I put them into the commercial, I at least have that going for me before we even get exposed to the audience.”

But who needs celebrities, when you can have sloths? As proof that celebs are not the only Super Bowl approach, here’s Coors Light’s lighthearted 30-second spot this year, in which sloths have a “case of the Mondays.”