A Super Bowl 2023 refresher

Welcome to 2023. We’re about a month out from the Super Bowl. If you’ve experienced a complete memory wipe after weeks of cookies, holiday tunes, and wearing nothing but cozy pajamas, here’s what you need to know about this year’s game.

Where: State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Also on Fox.

When: Sunday, February 12, at 6:30pm ET.

Who: We don’t know the teams yet. The advertisers, on the other hand…

• After Anheuser-Busch InBev gave up its more than 30-year deal as the exclusive beer advertiser in the Super Bowl, Molson Coors said it would run at least one ad during the game. AB InBev is “likely to run multiple ads” too, according to Ad Age.
• FanDuel is working with Wieden+Kennedy for its first Super Bowl ad, while DraftKings is planning an ad starring Kevin Hart.
• Downy, another first-timer this year, is already teasing a mystery pitch person.
• Rakuten will be back for the second time, this year with messaging around economic uncertainty.
• Hellmann’s is marking its third straight year in the Super Bowl, continuing its theme of reducing food waste.
• Pringles intends to run its sixth Super Bowl ad in a row.
• Avocados from Mexico is planning its eighth Super Bowl commercial.
• Google will reportedly return to the game, but the details are scarce, per Ad Age.
• Other brands planning to air ads include Kia and M&Ms.
• And don’t forget to leave room for Jesus; the “He Gets Us” campaign to “rebrand Jesus” will air two ads.

How much?: Fox said it was 95% sold out of its in-game Super Bowl ad inventory in September, with only about five or fewer 30-second slots unfilled at that time, according to Mark Evans, EVP of ad sales for Fox Sports. It might seem like those remaining spots would be long gone by now, but if prior years are any indication, that might not be the case.

Last year, NBCU announced that Super Bowl ads were sold out 10 days before it broadcast the game, Variety reported, and in 2021, when CBS had the rights, a network spokesperson announced that ads were “virtually sold out” for the February 7 game on January 27.

This year, some 30-second slots have sold for more than $7 million.

From you: Last week, we asked if, as a marketer, you like watching commercials during the Super Bowl. For the most part, it seems like you do: Out of more than 800 responses, 53% said yes, 18% said no, and the remainder said it depends.—AM