A timeline of some of the most expensive advertising in history.
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00:00Just how much does a Super Bowl ad cost in 2025?
00:03If you have to ask, you probably can't afford it.
00:06Just kidding, but really, like, you probably can't.
00:08According to USA Today, a 30-second commercial
00:11during Super Bowl 58 cost $7 million.
00:14And according to Variety, that price is the same
00:16for ads in Super Bowl 59.
00:18No inflation here, apparently.
00:19This is actually the third year in a row
00:22that the coveted ad spots have cost a cool $7 million.
00:26For comparison, ads that run
00:27during the NFL's Sunday Night Football
00:29run $882,079.
00:32That's according to Sports Business Journal.
00:34Still, that's more money than most of us
00:36regular people can comprehend.
00:37But hey, quite a bit less than that coveted Super Bowl spot.
00:40Meanwhile, if we take a look back
00:41to the very first Super Bowl in the 1960s,
00:44those ad spots were $37,500.
00:47Now, if you adjust that for inflation,
00:48that's roughly $360,000 in today's money.
00:52The Super Bowl ads didn't hit the million-dollar mark
00:55until 1995.
00:56That year, they clocked in at $1.15 million
00:59for a 30-second ad spot.
01:01The cost has continued to rise over the years,
01:03but the biggest ever jump in cost
01:05was between 2021 and 2022,
01:07when the pricing went from $5.5 million to $6.5 million.
01:11That's still for that 30-second spot.
01:13You might be wondering whether it's worth it
01:14to throw down this much money for 30 seconds of airtime.
01:17According to research from the University of Minnesota
01:20Carlson School of Management,
01:21the payout from these ads is not immediate.
01:24While brands do tend to see an immediate boost
01:26in clicks and website traffic,
01:27it takes a while for the sales to come through,
01:29and it's definitely more of a long game
01:31in terms of brand recognition.
01:33Some of the most memorable commercials of all time
01:35have initially aired during the Super Bowl.
01:37Apple's 1984 commercial was a fairly big risk,
01:40featuring a dystopian future
01:41where no one could think for themselves.
01:43A bloom secure from the pests
01:46of a contradictory force.
01:50A unification of force is more powerful a weapon
01:53than any fleet, or army on Earth.
01:56We are one people, with one whim, one resolve, one cause.
02:04It was considered to be so risky, in fact,
02:06that Apple's board of directors
02:08tried to stop it from airing.
02:10But hey, we're still here talking about it today
02:11over 40 years later, so it seems like it worked.
02:14Pepsi has had a few ultra-memorable
02:16Super Bowl commercials over the years,
02:18including their 2004 ad with Beyonce, Britney Spears,
02:21and Pink dressed as Roman gladiators
02:23singing We Will Rock You in the actual Colosseum,
02:26as in the one in Italy.
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03:02At the end of the day, if brand recognition is your goal,
03:04then you're sure to get plenty of eyeballs
03:06with a Super Bowl ad spot.
03:07The 2024 Super Bowl was the most-watched
03:10television program in all of history.
03:12Nielsen ratings showed that the Super Bowl
03:14saw 210 million viewers in 2024.
03:17We may be able to thank the Taylor Swift effect
03:19for that one.
03:20Will the numbers be even better in 2025?
03:22Time will tell, but seeing as Taylor Swift
03:24is expected to be cheering on her boyfriend,
03:26Travis Kelce, in the stands once again,
03:28the odds are looking good for those Nielsen ratings.