A Merika doesn’t have much to laugh about these days. The country is groaning under the weight of political events. And so the advertising industry has decided, at least next Sunday Super Bowl Sunday to give people some relief.
In the approximately 50 minutes that are spent on commercials during the three and a half hour broadcast of the football final, the hoped-for 130 million viewers are hardly bothered with the harsh reality in what is probably the darkest year in recent US history. The biggest American holiday after Thanksgiving is meant to bring people together. This is hardly possible with politics in the USA at the moment. So you retreat to entertainment.
In the advertising minutes, which cost up to 16 million dollars, you will see Andy Samberg promoting mayonnaise with a variation on the Neil Diamond classic “Sweet Caroline”. You’ll see Ben Affleck join Jennifer Aniston and Jason Alexander in favor of the Dunkin donut chain, poking fun at the fact that their era, the ’90s, is over.
Kim Kardashian will also self-reflectively joke about how difficult it is for her to bet on the right man for a sports betting service. George Clooney will praise food delivery service Grubhub for not charging special fees. And Scarlett Johansson will eat salty crackers with Jon Hamm at a beach party.
Approaches to a political message?
The majority of American businesses rely on a tried and tested combination for the Super Bowl: humor and stars. It’s a recipe that you can’t go wrong with. Nobody is being offended, nobody is adding fuel to the blazing political fire. “Everyone is afraid of triggering something,” says Peter Daboll, director of the advertising consulting firm Daivid.
If you’re looking for at least a hint of a political message, you’ll find what you’re looking for with the producer of over-the-counter pills for obesity and falling hormone levels – “Hims and Hers”. In its spot, the company claims to be doing something about the unaffordability of health care and thus social inequality in America.
Also vaguely political Lady Gaga with their version of “Will You Be My Neighbor,” the theme song to an ’80s children’s show that was about the value of community and neighborhood – things that are clearly missing in today’s America. The cover advertises a mortgage company.
Halftime show with Trump critic Bad Bunny
Superbowl advertising wasn’t always so apolitical. In 2017 alone, after Donald Trump took office for the first time, two companies used their clips to aggressively oppose Trump’s immigration policy and celebrate the American immigrant dream. At the height of the Black-Lives-MatterMovement, Pepsi embarrassed itself by making an implausible attempt to attach itself to the protests. As recently as 2023, an association of Christian-minded donors advocated listening to one another across the boundaries of political dogmas.
However, in the first year of Trump’s second term, there is an atmosphere of paranoia in the US. And experience so far has shown that the larger the organization, the less willing it is to take risks. In any case, the majority of advertising companies that can spend eight million dollars on 30 seconds of advertising are not willing to take risks.
What’s refreshing is that the NFL football league, itself an entertainment giant, is standing up to Trump and the president’s critics Bad Bunny at the halftime show leaves the stage. There has already been a lot of controversy about this – not least from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. But it will probably remain the only stumbling block on Sunday.