Post-Super Bowl Advertising Insights and Impact

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The day after the Super Bowl sees significant adverse effects on productivity, with around 16 million people calling in sick from work. Some HR executives are even advocating for the day after the Super Bowl to become an official holiday due to these productivity losses. The Super Bowl stands out in advertising dynamics; a conventional one-hour TV program features about 13 minutes of ads, while the Super Bowl showcases approximately 46 minutes of advertising over its nearly four-hour runtime. This spectacle includes 85 to 90 distinct ads that viewers intentionally watch, contrasting sharply with the rest of the year when consumers actively try to avoid commercials. Brands invest heavily in advertising, with total expenditures reaching about $224 billion annually across various platforms, of which television accounts for approximately 35%, or $78 billion. The Super Bowl alone represents a $420 million investment for that day just for ad time, excluding the substantial costs associated with ad production.

The Super Bowl isn’t just American football’s championship game. It’s also one of the world’s biggest stages for brand messaging.

In 2024, the average 30-second Super Bowl ad cost $7 million —and that doesn’t even include production costs. So how do brand managers know if they’re getting a good return on that huge investment?

In this episode, Bentley University assistant professor of marketing Shelle Santana discusses the evolution of corporate branding, using lessons from classic Super Bowl ads, like Budweiser's iconic Clydesdale horses.

She shares how to choose the best, measurable goal for an ad campaign, while also accounting for the risks that can accompany bold storytelling—like controversy or online backlash. She also explains why some brands release their ads ahead of the game, while others don’t. (Hint: It’s about social media engagement, and ultimately expanding the ROI on your ad investment.)

Key episode topics include: strategy, brand management, sales and marketing.

HBR On Strategy curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock new ways of doing business. New episodes every week.

· Listen to the original Cold Call episode: Super Bowl Ads Sell Products, but Do They Sell Brands? (2019)

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