In my view, the Big Ad Show 2025 illustrated, for the first time, that the cultural art form of broadcast TV advertising is on the same declining curve as broadcast TV ad revenue. This is an increasingly “old school” advertising format, and it’s arguable that, to some degree, the ad creative is declining alongside the spend. In 2024, digital ad spend accounted for 77.7% of total media ad spending in the US—amounting to $302.77 billion. In contrast, traditional media ad spending is forecasted to reach $86.72 billion this year. The fact of the matter is that for most companies, there is a much smarter way to go to market, and that’s via digital and content marketing that is far more targeted, efficient and attributable.
The question often asked is, “Why would someone spend $7 million on a 0:30 second TV spot? And is it worth it?”
The answer is that there are still many reasons why this expense is justified within a marketing budget. An audience of 100 million and the grand statement that a Super Bowl commercial makes about a brand are the draw and primary justification. Obviously, advertisers in the game were all well-funded and had large budgets. Some, like Pfizer and Budweiser, need to improve their image for political reasons. Some, like Chat GPT and other emerging AI brands, were making the statement: “We have arrived.” Others can justify the spend because their products have a very broad demographic user base – think pizza, tax services and TV channels. Also present were companies whose products are highly consumable with a high purchase incidence, like snack foods, fast food restaurants, beer, energy drinks and home delivery services. They all need to stay top of mind. They all want to grow their relevance in the market.
For the most part, the creative was not special, but there were still some goodies. I’ve touched on a few below:
The Budweiser “first delivery” spot won the USA Today Ad Meter poll, and there is no surprise in that. It had all the hallmarks and time-tested formula of a fan favorite: Cute pony, amazing cinematography, Americana. It was a huge production, and they pulled out all the stops in an effort to recover from previous PR problems.
My favorite spot was by Pfizer. The “knock you out” spot about cancer was really well done with equal parts entertainment and emotion. Boy, did Pfizer need that one!
I thought the Michelob Ultra “pickleball” spot with Willem Dafoe and Catherine O’Hara was extremely fun and an excellent example of using a celebrity to boost your brand’s image by using the force of their personality and talent. Additionally, tying into pickleball appeals to the older demographic that would drink an ultra-light beer.
The Doritos “Bold” spot was worthy of note and really well done. Simple, entertaining and not overly produced, it was very entertaining and drove home its point. It’s much more memorable than most ads in the game.
By contrast, a spot I hated was the Hellman’s “fake orgasm” spot with Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal. Many people will like it because it reprised their favorite movie, but for me, it’s a bit of a creative cop-out to virtually remake a scene from an old movie. And are you buying that Hellman’s would create that reaction?
In the big picture, the best spots are the ones that get talked about the most after the game. In most living rooms, there will be disagreements about which were the best. Ultimately, if they got mentioned in a positive light at all, then the ad guys that wrote them earned their paychecks.
