Newscasts - Super Bowl ads lean into 'American themes' for U.S. anniversary
03/02/2026 23:40
Click the following link to watch video: https://share.newscasts.refinitiv.com/link?entryId=1_5dd0gc1p&referenceId=tag:reuters.com,2026:newsml_RW248003022026RP1_930&pageId=Newscasts Source: 'Reuters - Business videos' Description: The Seattle Seahawks are set to face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX, arguably the biggest single-day event in U.S. sports, drawing a massive audience around the world. But another contest is already underway: the battle for attention in Super Bowl commercials. Leslie Zane, CEO of brand consulting firm Triggers, explains why ads sold out extremely quickly this year. Short Link: https://lseg.group/4te3nVM Video Transcript: Super Bowl ads sold out extremely quickly this year. We're told by September, they were done with their inventory, and that was actually before the NFL season even started. I wish to present the importance of hard work and determination. This is the 60th Super Bowl in 2026 and 2026 is a very important year. This is the year of America's 250th anniversary. It is a big year for brands, and so every brand is going to be trying to connect itself to American themes. Budweiser needs to get two messages across. It needs to connect itself, reconnect itself to America's 250th anniversary. And it simultaneously needs to communicate that this is Budweiser's own 150th anniversary. The horse and the eagle become one. We actually see this creature it almost looks like Pegasus with half horse, half bird, half eagle, and it's an incredible symbol of America. The average cost for a Super Bowl ad in this year's Super Bowl in 2026 is around $7 million to $8 million, that compares to $5 million back in 2016. And so, we have seen increasing growth in the price of a Super Bowl ad. The Super Bowl audience is about 127 million viewers on YouTube. And that idea of everybody being able to watch the same thing and see the same thing all at the same time. In a fragmented world, that is a huge benefit.