Where Super Bowl ads are going wrong

A reliance on celebrities and sub-optimal branding mean that many Super Bowl ads are not having the impact that the level of spending demands, according to new research from System1 Group. 

System1 tested consumers’ emotional reactions to Super Bowl ads from the past four years (2020-2023) and found that commercials featuring brand characters consistently outscored celebrity spots for appeal, brand recognition and commercial impact. 

Key findings 

• Around four in 10 ads (39%) featured celebrities, averaging 2.7 Stars (on a brand impact scale from 0 to 5.9 Stars).
• Ads with brand characters and branded situations (e.g., Snickers “you’re not you when you’re hungry” setups) averaged 3.8 Stars, yet only 10% of ads used them.
• Brand character ads registered greater immediate sales potential than celebrity, music, sports and non-celebrity ads.
• Brand characters averaged a 1.38 Spike Rating vs. 1.24 for celebrity ads, for example, demonstrating a significantly higher propensity to spike sales over 10 days. 
• Since 2020, the average brand recognition score for Super Bowl ads has dropped from 85 to 83, while the score for general US ads is 85. The issue here is that advertisers aren’t introducing their brands early enough or making them central enough to the ads. 

Key quote

“Almost 20% of viewers leave Super Bowl ads not being able to recall what brand the ad was for. This is causing serious wastage” – Jon Evans, Chief Customer Officer at System1. 

Sourced from System1