For a while now, brands have sought to expand their Super Bowl ads beyond a mere 30-second broadcast during a commercial break. They’ve attempted to do so by posting their spot online days, or weeks, before the Big Game, then promoting it on talk shows and social media.
So far this year, some Super Bowl advertisers have done a better job at getting people’s attention prior to kickoff than others.
When examining raw brand mentions related to the Super Bowl across various social media platforms in the past seven days, Bud Light has received the most, according to social media analytics company Sprout Social. Uber Eats and Tubi have also done better than the rest.
In this particular analysis, Sprout Social did not measure whether the sentiment behind each social post was positive or negative.
One aspect to Bud Light’s and Uber Eats’ buzzy ads: Celebrities. Lots of celebrities.
Bug Light’s commercial, for instance, features Post Malone, comedian Shane Gillis, and former quarterback Peyton Manning. Uber Eats, meanwhile, partnered with Matthew McConaughey, Kevin Bacon, Martha Stewart, Charli XCX, Hot Ones creator Sean Evans, and filmmaker Greta Gerwig.
Ever since 2018, the majority of Super Bowl ads have involved at least one famous face, according to television analytics firm iSpot.tv. Experts say part of what’s fueling the trend of brands relying on well-known actors, athletes, and musicians is the publicity it generates before the game.
“Unless there’s something really unique about the creative, it does get harder to amplify prior and get people excited,” said Marc Ippolito, president of Burns Entertainment, a celebrity marketing agency that worked on a handful of this year’s Big Game ads, including Hellmann’s commercial starring Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, and Sydney Sweeney. “There’s got to be something, because it’s the Super Bowl and everyone is expecting something big and over the top.”