What makes a great Super Bowl ad and why?

It’s no secret that one of the biggest cultural moments in America is the Super Bowl

Every year, viewers from all over the country tune in to watch the final game of the season, often regardless of whether “their team” has made it to the end. Super Bowl parties have their own genre of foods and décor, people wait eagerly to hear who the half time performer will be, and fans who spend billions of dollars each year on sports merchandise like jerseys and hats gear up.

Pictured: Tom Brady's Super Bowl rings in the NFL's "100 Year Game"

Last year, nearly a third of all Americans tuned in to watch the 2022 game. With viewership participation in the tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions, the event is undeniably one of the most important moments for brands and advertisers to engage with.

Josh Mandel, president of The Mill Advertising, notes in a previous interview that “what makes the Super Bowl unique is that it is a magnet not just for sports fans but a touchstone of attention on the commercials themselves. People are watching with family, watching with friends, watching because they know people in the office will be watching... The game brings together so many different groups of people.”

With that wide and diverse audience comes the opportunity for brands to do something exceptional. According to Britannica, “the Super Bowl has topped television ratings in the United States every year since the first championship game in 1967. This has made commercial time during its broadcast the most expensive of any televised event in the United States. In 2016, for example, a 30-second spot cost approximately $4.8m. Since the 1980s, the Super Bowl’s commercials have garnered nearly as much interest as the game itself, particularly after Apple’s blockbuster 1984 ad.” As Mandel states, Super Bowl ads therefore “can and should represent the best of our industry.”

In looking at the power of Super Bowl ads, USA Today developed the “Ad Meter,” in which panelists review, rate, and rank the top advertisements of the game. Viewers can look forward to seeing what creative, funny, emotional, or otherwise innovative content brands can come up with. These ads often play with a series of formulas, such as one that pairs some of the latest technology with a major celebrity.

For example, to clinch the number one spot on Ad Meter in 2022, The Mill helped create the VFX on Rocket Mortgage’s ‘Dream House’, which starred Anna Kendrick and Barbie herself. The ad did an excellent job of pairing Kendrick’s modern humor with such an iconic and nostalgic figure. In a close 2nd place, The Mill worked on Amazon ‘Mind Reader’, which depicted celebrity couple Scarlett Johansson and husband Colin Jost as they imagine what life would be like if their Amazon Alexa device was able to read their minds.

Pictured: Anna Kendrick in Rocket Mortgage's "Dream Home"

When not playing with the fun and fantastic, Super Bowl ads can often choose a different direction – opting for creatives that capture simple, sincere messaging. In 2021, Bud Light and Widen+Kennedy resonated with consumers with their spot “Last Year’s Lemons.” Inspired by global pandemic hardships of 2020, ‘Last Year’s Lemons’ showed viewers how despite a challenging time, we could still turn these “sour” moments into something special.

Currently, almost 193 million US adults plan to tune in to the big game on February 12. Clearly, people are excited for what the game (and the ads) have in store this year. Expected ad themes this year include concepts such as brand legacy and changes in social media, and viewers wonder how brands will reflect on cultural shifts and current economic climates. Whether you are a brand, a life-long fan, a creative partner, or a first-time watcher, enjoy the game – and remember to keep an eye out for a favorite commercial.

Pictured: Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost in Amazon's "Mind Reader."

To learn more about The Mill’s top Ad Meter spots from the last five years, click here.