PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Commercials are the most popular part of Super Bowl Sunday for many people, but like just about everything else this past year, advertisements during the big game can be expected to look and feel different Sunday night.
“There are going to be notions around unity and also really around the coming together of the country and really surviving this thing together,” said Steve Merino, chief creative officer at Philadelphia ad agency Aloysius Butler & Clark. “You’re going to see a lot about togetherness and being at home with one another.”
It was something seen during the Super Bowl post-9/11, for example.
But if you’re hoping for a good laugh or two, you should be in luck.
“At the same,” Merino added, “it’s still the Super Bowl and people are really looking for moments to escape, even if they’re stuck inside their own home. There will definitely be funny spots as always.”
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“Stuck inside their homes” is something Merino believes will be beneficial to advertisers.
Rather than hosting or attending a large party where there’s lots of noise and distractions, many people will be watching in small groups or by themselves.
“There’s actually going to be more households watching it,” he said, “so I actually think it’s a great opportunity for advertisers to have those connections with people who are actually able to hear and see what’s going on.”
On top of the tone of ads, you can also expect a change in familiar faces — Coke and Budweiser, for example, are two big names sitting this one out. Instead, you'll see online platforms that people have been using.
And don’t expect to see a whole lot of previews for that new blockbuster film like we often see during the Super Bowl.
“In a typical year, probably around 15 to 20% of the spots are around movies that are coming out or traveling,” said Merino, “but because people can’t do that, you’re going to probably see fewer spots in that genre. But spending at supermarkets is actually up, so you’re going to see a lot more ads around consumer packaged goods. So things like snacks, things people can continue to buy.”
Typically, Super Bowl spots sell out around Thanksgiving, but not this time around. Part of the reason for that is companies have less money to spend, but Merino said it goes beyond that.
“One of the reasons advertisers are late to sign on is because COVID could impact anything at the last minute,” he said. “So if suddenly we find out Tom Brady is COVID positive and he’s not playing in the Super Bowl, ratings will be down, and that’s something advertisers are definitely scared of.”
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Then there’s a company’s image.
“It’s also a bad PR move if some of these companies have had to do layoffs or salary freezes to suddenly spend $5 million to $6 million on a 30 second TV spot,” explained Merino.
The spot prices are also the same as they were last year after going up every year prior, something Merino feels works in a company’s favor as well if they were torn on buying a spot or not this year.
After all, with 120 million viewers watching, pandemic or not, “there are still economic reasons to advertise,” said Merino.
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