This page highlights findings from a review of current literature about Super Bowl commercials and the effectiveness of humor in advertisements. The following study draws on previous findings in the fields of marketing and communication to further research Super Bowl commercials and the impact the use of humor has on the viewers.
Click Here to read Literature Review
Over the past 55 years, the Super Bowl has grown to be the most televised event in the country. Last year, a 30-second commercial slot cost roughly $5.5 million, the most expensive cost of a commercial ever. The Super Bowl is more than just a game, but a celebration of the best and most thought out commercials of the year. With an average audience of 100 million viewers and being the only event that defies media fragmentation, the Super Bowl is a marketer's dream.
Now, how did we get here?
Originally, a 30-second commercial in 1967 only cost about $40,000. Despite the growth in the sport of football, the game has become a Pop-Culture and advertising phenomenon. The 1970s is where the use of celebrities and movie-like cinema were introduced. Since the 1990s the game has turned into a creative competition as marketers battle for the most talked-about advertisement. Nowadays, viewers tune in to watch the commercials, even more so than the game itself.
This literature review considers what advertisers should consider when formulating a successful Super Bowl ad. The use of celebrities, violence, and humor all impact ad likability. Product category, ad length, and types of humor all play a role in the audience’s perception of the ad. Marketers want to understand what impacts the consumers' perception. The psychology of why people find things funny has been researched (Eisend, 2018; Khan & Khan, 2013). There are viewer qualities that impact their perception of the Super Bowl ads such as the viewer’s age and gender. The wide demographic of the Super Bowl audience suggests that advertisers should focus on the audience as a whole rather than homing in on certain groups. The goal for every marketer investing in the Super Bowl is to create a game-winning ad.
Image from: Beer Connoisseur
Originally, a 30-second commercial in 1967 only cost about $40,000. Despite the growth in the sport of football, the game has become a Pop-Culture and advertising phenomenon. Super Bowl ads became a cultural phenomenon in the 1970s as celebrities were incorporated into these advertisements. One of the ads that revolutionized the game was a Coca-Cola ad that highlighted NFL superstar, ‘Mean’ Joe Green. At the time, he was one of the first black men to appear in a commercial for a national brand. The ad steered away from the traditional format of commercials, in other words, the product wasn’t the main focus of the advertisement. Instead, they focused on the likeness of the celebrity to sell the product. In the 1970s celebrities were incorporated into commercials and the NFL players stood out.
The 1984 blockbuster ad by Apple was a breakthrough moment in Super Bowl commercial history, as 85 million people watched the ad and it is still ranked as one of the most famous ads in Super Bowl history (Frank and Silverstein, 2020). The “1984” ad paved the way for making Super Bowl commercials an integral part of the Super Bowl tradition. In the ad the product is barely shown, instead, consumers are drawn into a story. The success of the advertisement can be attributed to the cinematic quality which was unique for ads at that time. (Mansky, 2019).
Since the 1980s, the Super Bowl viewership has widened across all demographics, such as race, age, gender, and nationality. Hatzithomas et al. (2016) points out that the Super Bowl was once a male-dominated space, but the female audience has grown closer to 50% of the viewers. As the audience got larger, the content of the advertisements has adjusted to broader interests. Super Bowls ads have become a mainstream conversation topic for weeks after the game. The focus of the viewers is more than just the game but also watching the commercials. Because of the growth of the Super Bowl, commercial costs have increased drastically as well.
Hatzithomas et al. (2018) note, in order to increase likeability, the use of humor, animals, and celebrities are often the main focus of these Super Bowl advertisements. Super Bowl commercials are important to advertisers because they are spending so much money to make them more memorable and entertaining. The use of music, animals, and celebrities helps connect with consumers emotionally. The goal of Super Bowl ads is to catch the attention of the consumers, and humor can be extremely effective.
At an all-time high, in 2009, 80% of Super Bowl commercials contained humor. According to an NFL study, it was found that over half (52%) of Super Bowl ads are talked about the day after the game. Most of the talked-about ads involve humor. Humor, in advertising, never goes out of style. Commercials that involved humor have the best consumer recallability. (Blackford et al., 2011; Yelkur et al., 2013; Tomkovich et al., 2001).
When thinking about humor, it’s important to note that something may be funny to one individual but offensive to others (Meyer, 2000). Humor is only funny in the eyes of the individual, depending on the situation. When using humor in advertising, the impact can be explained via two types of models, cognitive and affective (Eisend, 2018; Khan & Khan, 2013).
Cognitive refers to the mental process of paying attention to and gaining knowledge of the advertisement. The affective component refers to the mood, feelings, and attitudes of the audience. When an ad uses humor the viewer might be more likely to pay attention to it according to the cognitive model. When the humor in the ad makes someone laugh their reaction results in a positive feeling according to the affective model.
Researchers cited three specific theories that describe these different reactions. The three theories are relief, incongruity, and superiority. (Khan & Khan, 2013; Meyer, 2000).
Image from: Adage
Men and women view the Super Bowl ads differently, especially when it comes to violent humor. Men are more likely to have a positive reaction to the combination of violence and humor, while women often find it offensive or unnecessary. Findings suggest that women are more sensitive to ads that violate social norms. (Hatzithomas et al, 2016; Swani et al, 2013).
The Super Bowl has an extremely wide demographic, with at least 100 million annual viewers. It is also the only event that defies media fragmentation. Although, since 2015, Super Bowl viewership has been dropping each year because the younger generation is starting to stream the game through third-party websites. Viewership numbers dropping can also be attributed to individuals gathering together to watch the game. The main age demographic of the Super Bowl is 18-49.
There are a few noted gaps in the research. One main concern is the characteristics of the viewer, such as motivation to watch the game. The difference between watching your team and watching any team may be a determining factor when paying attention to Super Bowl commercials. One objective of the research is to test the difference between fans versus nonfans. Another gap that stood out is the lack of current research on comedic violence. It is unclear if people still react to violent humor nowadays since the original study was completed over two decades ago. Yoon et al., (2016) defined violent humor as clear physical violence with comedic intent. To add to that, violent humor rarely shows the negative consequences of the act of violence. In the past two decades, the levels of violence on TV seemed to have changed. We want to know if viewers are even caught off guard by the combination of violence and humor anymore. Lastly, we want to test the connection between humor and ad recall. Does humor have a positive or negative impact?
These gaps in the research lead to three research questions.
RQ1: Does a non-fan have a better recall of humorous Super Bowl commercials than a fan of either team playing in the game?
RQ2: How does the use of humor in Super Bowl commercials impact viewers' recall of the product being advertised?
RQ3: Do people react differently to the violent humor in Super Bowl commercials compared to Super Bowl commercials with non-violent humor?
Click the button below to navigate to the Methodology