Super Bowl LVIII is over, with the Kansas City Chiefs taking the win from the San Francisco 49ers. But as with every year, the sporting spectacle was not the only draw for the live audience of over 100 million viewers.
At an average of $7m for a 30-second ad slot, the Super Bowl is one of the most watched and sought-after advertising moments in the year.
“Sports is still an advertiser’s delight,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said during the company’s earnings call Wednesday.
This year, consumer packaged goods like Oreos, Pringles, Mountain Dew, Doritos and M&Ms dominated the ad line up. There were plenty of celebrity endorsements from the likes of Christopher Walken, Ben Affleck, Beyoncé, Quinta Brunson, Jenna Ortega, Kate McKinnon and Jennifer Aniston.
With fewer car commercials this year, those automotive firms that did spend the hefty price tag on a commercial focused on showcasing new electric vehicles.
So, who scored a marketing touch down and who fumbled the ball in front of millions of fans?
PMW breaks down Super Bowl LVIII (everything but the football) and what performance marketers might have missed from last night’s game.
1. Beyonce tried – and failed – to break the internet
Verizon’s ad featured her attempting to “break the internet” but it proved impossible due to the strength of Verizon’s software.
In the spot, Beyoncé announces several new newsworthy events, each one topping the last on her quest to “break the internet.” Despite it all, she’s unsuccessful at overloading Verizon’s internet.
The commercial ends with Beyoncé declaring, “Drop the new music,” which sent users of social media platform X into fan frenzy trying to decode if there was new music from the megastar which she announced on Instagram moments after the ad aired.
This ad was travelled by viewers across different socials but was it more of an ad for Beyoncé or Verizon? The result was a win-win for both brand and megastar, as a flurry of searches to uncover a new track prompted a spike in searches for both the singer and the telecoms giant.
2. Uber Eats relies on culturally relevant celebs
To remember that Uber Eats delivers almost anything, all you have to do is forget something else. That’s the premise of the delivery service’s 60-second Super Bowl ad.
Starting with Jennifer Aniston forgetting long-time friend and “Friends” cast member David Schwimmer, the spot showcases celebrities and everyday people forgetting important details.
Uber is harnessing trending celebrities to ride the wave of their own hype on the internet and social media.
In one stand-out moment, Victoria and David Beckham – stars of the viral ad teaser parodying their Netflix documentary – forget the Spice Girls who are due on tour this year.
3. Could Taylor Swift be any more famous?
Despite Travis Kelce being a part of the winning team in the biggest sporting day in the US calendar, the former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton congratulated “Taylor’s boyfriend” on X (Twitter).
Congratulations to Taylor's boyfriend—and the entire Kansas City Chiefs community! ����
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) February 12, 2024
4. Hellman’s ‘Mayo Cat’ releases live updates on X
Hellman’s slightly odd ad with its brand character ‘Mayo Cat’ featured comedian Kate McKinnon. In the ad, the cat goes viral and it displays the cat’s X account gaining followers.
Heading over to the account on X, you get a sarcastic account of the game, which matches McKinnon’s tone as a comedian – perhaps the reason she was chosen to feature in the ad.
watch party =^◕⩊◕^= pic.twitter.com/SnXNhU52fD
— Hellmann's Mayo Cat ^••^ (@Hellmanns) February 12, 2024
5. Snapchat insists they’re not social media
Snapchat is now claiming not to be a social media app to distinguish its platform from TikTok and Instagram.
In a 30-second Super Bowl slot, the platform is described as an “instant messaging app” and aims to serve as an alternative to the more toxic elements of the social landscape, such as obsessions over follower counts and likes.
6. Dan O’Dowd boycotts Elon Musk’s Tesla
Elon Musk’s X platform was very popular to document the games’ progress, but he couldn’t swerve criticism, even in commercials.
For the second year in a row, rival tech entrepreneur Dan O’Dowd bought an ad spot to campaign against Tesla’s assistant driving feature. Contrasting the usual ads that promote a brand, O’Dowd is campaigning against the electric vehicle brand, saying he was compelled to bring awareness to the latest issue with what he calls “the most incompetent software I’ve ever seen”.
7. Duolingo’s five-second ad
With only five seconds to grab viewer’s attention, Duolingo released am absurd ad to stay in the audience’s mind.
With the tagline ‘Do your lesson, no butts’ the ad features the slogan ‘do your duolingo’ across the inflated posterior of the brand’s mascot, Duo the Owl.
The ad plays off a specific widget that users can add to their phone screens, which rotates between various photos of Duo throughout the day. The “buttception” photo appears on the widget about halfway through the day every day, and has been the subject of viral social media memes.
Provoking a ‘WTF’ reaction, will the ad’s virality see an uplift in app downloads?
A version of this article first appeared on Campaign sister title Performance Marketing World.