How much money has been spent on advertising in the first 50 years of the Super Bowl? A total of $4.5 billion, according to Ad Age's analysis. Advertising's biggest game gets more supersized every year. Ad spending for commercials during the game on Feb. 7's Super Bowl 50 broadcast on CBS will total a record $377 million, according to Ad Age Datacenter's estimate. That's more than was spent on the Super Bowl in the 1960s, '70s and '80s combined ($299 million). More big game punting: Milestones in price of a 30-second Super Bowl commercial:
In-game ad spending:
Average cost for 30-second spotIn-game ad spending:
Total ad spending ($ million)Super Bowl No.
Year
Adjusted for
inflation
Adjusted for
inflation1
1967
$40,000
$289,000
$1.7
$12.4
2
1968
54,000
376,000
2.3
16.2
3
1969
67,500
450,000
2.9
19.4
4
1970
78,200
491,000
3.4
21.1
5
1971
72,000
429,000
3.1
18.5
6
1972
86,000
497,000
3.7
21.4
7
1973
103,500
577,000
4.5
24.8
8
1974
107,000
545,000
4.6
23.4
9
1975
110,000
501,000
4.7
21.5
10
1976
125,000
534,000
5.4
22.9
11
1977
162,000
657,000
7.0
28.3
12
1978
185,000
703,000
8.0
30.2
13
1979
222,000
771,000
9.5
33.2
14
1980
275,000
839,000
11.8
36.1
15
1981
324,300
885,000
13.9
38.0
16
1982
345,000
868,000
14.9
37.5
17
1983
400,000
971,000
20.0
48.5
18
1984
450,000
1,048,000
21.4
49.7
19
1985
500,000
1,125,000
26.3
59.1
20
1986
550,000
1,191,000
28.1
60.7
21
1987
575,000
1,227,000
31.5
67.2
22
1988
600,000
1,231,000
34.8
71.4
23
1989
675,000
1,323,000
35.5
69.5
24
1990
700,000
1,304,000
39.0
72.6
25
1991
800,000
1,411,000
45.6
80.4
26
1992
800,000
1,375,000
48.0
82.5
27
1993
850,000
1,415,000
49.3
82.1
28
1994
900,000
1,461,000
52.2
84.7
29
1995
1,150,000
1,816,000
69.7
110.0
30
1996
1,085,000
1,668,000
65.1
100.1
31
1997
1,200,000
1,790,000
71.8
107.1
32
1998
1,292,000
1,898,000
80.1
117.7
33
1999
1,600,000
2,311,000
103.4
149.4
34
2000
2,100,000
2,953,000
132.3
186.0
35
2001
2,200,000
2,982,000
136.4
184.9
36
2002
2,200,000
2,948,000
134.2
179.8
37
2003
2,150,000
2,808,000
130.1
169.9
38
2004
2,302,000
2,950,000
149.6
191.8
39
2005
2,400,000
2,987,000
158.4
197.1
40
2006
2,500,000
2,992,000
162.5
194.5
41
2007
2,385,000
2,796,000
151.5
177.6
42
2008
2,700,000
3,036,000
186.3
209.4
43
2009
3,000,000
3,372,000
213.0
239.4
44
2010
2,974,000
3,257,000
205.2
224.8
45
2011
3,100,000
3,341,000
227.9
245.6
46
2012
3,500,000
3,665,000
262.5
274.9
47
2013
4,000,000
4,123,000
292.0
300.9
48
2014
4,200,000
4,261,000
331.8
336.7
49
2015
4,400,000
4,468,000
345.4
350.8
50
2016
4,800,000
4,800,000
376.8
376.8
Total
$4,518.9
$5,858.5
1967
$1,333
1977
$5,400
1981
$10,810
1988
$20,000
1997
$40,000
2005
$80,000
2016
$160,000
Special Report: Super Bowl
Super Bowl, Supersized: $4.5 Billion in Ad Spending Over 50 Years
Stats on Advertising in the Big Game From 1967 Through 2016
Super Bowl ad spending at 50-year line: $4.5 billion
Average cost for 30-second commercial and estimated total in-game TV ad spending. Total advertising spending in first 50 years: $4.5 billion ($5.9 billion, adjusted for inflation).
Source: Estimated average unit cost for 30-second in-game commercials from Kantar Media, Nielsen and Ad Age Datacenter. Estimated total in-game ad spending from Ad Age Datacenter (1967-1981, 2016) and Kantar Media (1982-2015). Inflation adjustments, from Ad Age, translate previous years' ad costs and spending into estimated current (2016) dollars using Bureau of Labor Statistics data. More info: kantarmedia.us; nielsen.com; bls.gov.
Cost for one second of Super Bowl advertising
Source: Ad Age Datacenter analysis. See source line in main accompanying graphic.
Super Bowl ad spending by decade
Ad spending in Super Bowl 50 (estimated $377 million) will exceed ad spending on the big game in the 1960s, '70s and '80s ($299 million). Total for first 50 years: $4.5 billion.
Source: Ad Age Datacenter analysis. Numbers rounded. See source line in main accompanying graphic.
