Viva Super Bowl LVIII!

The Super Bowl and the Biggest Marketing Moment in Media

By Anthony Taranto, SVP, Sales, Sports

When I was given the privilege of managing Sales for the NFL on CBS in 1998, the thought of a franchise in Las Vegas, let alone a Super Bowl seemed unimaginable. Yet here we are in 2024, under the bright lights of the Las Vegas Strip for the western hemisphere’s biggest day in sports.

How’d that happen?

The fact is that football has become synonymous with American culture. Whether it be the explosion of fantasy football, the hero worship of stars like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning or Patrick Mahomes, the Kelce brothers’ podcast or the sudden influx of Swifties, the NFL has never been more popular. The playoffs continue to set ratings records, and per Nielsen, 93 of the top 100 shows on television are NFL broadcasts, an unimaginable statistic a mere decade ago.

In addition, as media has evolved over a generation, audiences have turned to a variety of platforms and most everything is streaming and on demand. It’s harder and harder to reach people in large numbers and share a big cultural moment. Live events, especially sports, are the exception. And the one galvanizing event in media has been and remains the Super Bowl, America’s National Sports Holiday.

Last year the Super Bowl delivered more than 115 million viewers. No audience is bigger. These numbers make the game a singular marketing opportunity. Brands know that the audience is paying attention—nearly 80% of Super Bowl viewers feel the commercials are just as important and interesting as the game, no matter where they are placed.

This happens nowhere else in media.

Also, the Super Bowl is one of the very few places where creative is developed especially for the show. That’s why so many great Super Bowl ads live on forever. Whether it’s Apple’s “1984,” Masterlock’s “One Second Ad,” Reebok’s “Terry Tate Office Linebacker” or the “Bud Bowl,” these are not only commercials – they are also iconic cultural moments.

Advertising during the big game has also evolved over time to embrace a more diverse fan base. As the NFL audience has become more female, marketers have noticed and responded. Where else could an ad have as much impact as Dove’s brilliant “Run Like a Girl” or haven’t you noticed the popularity of your local girls’ flag football team lately?

It’s no wonder that the cost of a Super Bowl ad is by far and away the most premium unit in all of media, and yet it seems the game sells out faster every year, doesn’t it? Cultural moments like the Super Bowl are the pinnacle of appointment viewing, generating massive social interaction and earned media.

If anything has unleashed the true power of the Super Bowl, it’s the ability and aptitude of brands to use the platform to add billions of impressions by building campaigns that tease commercials and promote products before, during and far after the game is over.

And while the Super Bowl will always attract massive audiences, it’s important for us to evolve and build in additional opportunities for marketers to reach these valuable audiences. CBS Sports and Nickelodeon have pioneered bringing the NFL to a new legion of fans with their innovative and slime-filled telecasts for kids and families. And it works—the Nickelodeon NFL Nickmas game was the most-watched Nick telecast of 2023 for total viewers, teens and adults.

This year, the NFL and CBS Sports will partner for the first-ever alternate telecast of the Super Bowl on Nickelodeon. As any good advertiser knows, the earlier you can build brand loyalty in a fan, the better. And in the case of the NFL, making new, avid fans is the best way to ensure future interest and growth in an ever-expanding sports and entertainment marketplace.

All of this adds up to the biggest day in broadcasting, and it’s a unique thrill to be the first broadcaster to do a Super Bowl from Las Vegas. So, in the spirit of Elvis, the “King of Rock ‘n Roll,” I say to everyone, “Viva Las Vegas!” and look forward to everyone watching the glitz, glamour and excitement of the Super Bowl on Paramount. See you there!