Fox Says There's Big Change in Super Bowl Ads This Year

Exactly zero ads for crypto, while Anheuser-Busch no longer is sole alcohol advertiser
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 6, 2023 2:35 PM CST
This Year's Super Bowl Ads: Crypto Is Out, Booze Is in
Large advertisements adorn buildings and electronic billboards leading up to the NFL Super Bowl LVII football game in Phoenix, Friday, Feb. 3, 2023.   (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

The hottest advertising ticket in town is officially sold out. Fox said Monday that in-game ads for Super Bowl LVII have all been sold. The game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles is Sunday, with advertisers jockeying to get their products in front of the more than 100 million people expected to watch. Mark Evans, executive VP of ad sales for Fox Sports, said a few ads went for more than $7 million for 30 seconds. Most sold for between $6 million and $7 million. Anheuser-Busch remains the biggest advertiser with three minutes of national airtime. The beverage giant gave up its deal to be the exclusive alcohol advertiser this year, so Heineken, Diageo, Remy Martin, and Molson Coors are also in the game.

Other big categories include Doritos and M&Ms, movie studios, streaming services, automakers, and tech companies. Out this year: crypto companies. Last year's Super Bowl was dubbed the "Crypto Bowl" because four cryptocurrency companies—FTX, Coinbase, Crypto.com, and eToro—ran splashy commercials, reports the AP. But in November, FTX filed for bankruptcy and its founder was charged in a scheme to defraud investors. This year, two crypto advertisers had commercials “booked and done" and two others were ”on the one-yard line," Evans said. But once the FTX news broke, those deals weren't completed. Now, "There's zero representation in that category on the day at all,” he said.

Evans said most Super Bowl ads sold much earlier than usual, with more than 90% of its Super Bowl ad inventory gone by the end of the summer, as established advertisers jockeyed for prime positions. But the remaining spots sold slower. Partly that was due to the implosion of the crypto space, as well as general advertiser concerns about the global economy, Evans said. Last year, NBC sold out of its ad space briskly and said an undisclosed number of 30-second spots went for $7 million, a jump from the $6.5 million that 2021’s ads went for. (More Super Bowl LVII stories.)

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