From TV Commercial to Online Search: Effectiveness of Super Bowl Advertising

The Super Bowl is an annual grand event celebrated not only by football fans but also by advertisers. In 2013, the Super Bowl was the most watched American television broadcast with more than 108 million viewers (Siltanen 2014). Because of its wide viewership, many brands invest in television commercial spots during the game. The cost for a 30-s advertising spot on US television during the Super Bowl has steadily increased in the last decade. In 2014, the cost for a 30-s spot reached four million dollars (Farhi 2014). Is it worthwhile to spend such a huge amount of a company’s advertising budget on the Super Bowl? According to a survey taken after Super Bowl 2013 (Crossmedia 2013), 70 % of the participants recalled Super Bowl ads from that year, whereas only 40 % reported an increase in brand consideration. Thus the effectiveness of Super Bowl advertising remains unclear.