In light of the Philadelphia Eagles’ win in Super Bowl 2025, it is worth pausing to admire the stars and highlights of American sports culture. From Taylor Swift to flashy half-time shows, today’s American football is filled with spectacle. However, on this much-anticipated night, the Super Bowl isn’t even the main eye-catcher.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the average NFL game features only 11 minutes of actual play within a three-hour broadcast. The remaining 2 hours and 49 minutes consist of replays, stoppages and, of course, commercials. Advertisements are an integral part of our daily lives, especially in the world of sports. As they increasingly take center stage, we explore how the NFL and especially the Super Bowl lure us into watching endless hours of commercials.
Money Talks, Commercials Shout
The National Football League (NFL), beloved by millions of Americans, was formed through the merger of the NFL and the American Football League (AFL) in 1967. This idea was driven by a single goal: profit maximization. By making the best teams play against each other, the newly created NFL attracted millions of viewers, reaching 65 million people – about a third of the U.S. population at that time.
The impact of Super Bowl ads today is immeasurable. From controversial publicity to jaw-dropping costs ($7M for just 30 seconds of airtime), these ads have turned into a cultural phenomenon. Thanks to commercials, Super Bowl 2024 became the most watched US TV broadcast since the 1969 Moon landing. As more viewers tune into NFL games for the ads, these commercials have transformed into must-see TV moments, with social media buzzing about them, occasionally mentioning the game itself.
The Game-Changer
The turning point that changed the NFL forever and transformed how people view commercials took place during Super Bowl XVIII in 1984.
At the time of the newly formed merger in 1967, commercials were short, presenting simple ads that only listed product features. A year later, the Super Bowl included an airplane parade by the U.S. military, and that’s where brands saw an opportunity.
Starting in the late 60s and throughout the 70s, Super Bowl ads became an undeniable sensation. At that time, commercial slots were relatively cheap, costing an average of only $110,000 compared to today’s $7M. However, ads remained straightforward, lacking any real storytelling. Until everything changed in 1984.
In the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII, Apple made a statement. The tech giant presented a one-minute video with no sales pitch, no list of features and not even a single Apple product in sight. Inspired by George Orwell’s dystopian novel ‘1984,’ which portrays a totalitarian society, Apple showed a world where it was absent, symbolizing the arrival of a revolutionary product that would break us free from conformity.
This ad quickly became a cultural moment, surpassing all expectations.
The Vicious Cycle of Consumerism
Apple did not only make an incredible amount of profit but redefined the way we view the Super Bowl. Beyond that, it transformed not just Super Bowl commercials but sports advertising as a whole. As brands recognized the potential in American sports, companies worldwide started investing in commercial slots in between pauses, timeouts and halftimes – just as we see in the Premier League, NBA, Formula 1 and even the FIFA World Cup.
Nowadays, brands just want to be talked about, triggering this type of over-solicitation, which drives bidding wars and skyrocketing prices for commercial slots.
In this context, sports broadcasting, when looked at from a broad perspective, has become a well-oiled machine. The money spent on ads boosts league profits, allowing the system to generate more entertainment – ultimately benefiting the same fans who purchase products from the very brands advertising the games they watch.
‘FOMO,’ the Product of Ads
With time, the NFL’s audience grew and therefore the companies’ budget increased further. Then, came the catalyst of this vicious cycle: social media.
Before, ads like Apple’s only showed during the Super Bowl and only stayed in the memories of those who witnessed them. With social media, brands do not only display ads during games, but also post way before the actual event to create buzz and build up excitement.
Today, the Super Bowl draws over 200 million viewers, all eagerly anticipating what will unfold during the commercials. These ads have become must-see moments, with many fearing they might miss something that could go viral on social media, creating a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out).
Thanks to Apple’s game-changing ad, sports have evolved into the perfect stage for not only showcasing athleticism but also capitalism. The mix of entertainment and marketing during major sports events like the Super Bowl have transformed the way brands engage with audiences, turning sports into a platform for both performance and influence.
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