Jennifer Coolidge and Nicholas Braun starred in Uber Eats’ humorous 2022 Super Bowl spot.
When it comes to Super Bowl ads, laughing is in and crying is out. And viewers want more animals but less cause-based marketing or patriotic flag-waving.
That’s all according to a new Ad Age-Harris Poll survey, which found that 69% of respondents favor funny ads, while only 14% want serious ones. Patriotic themes drew support from only 31% of respondents and purpose-driven ads had 24% support. Heartfelt ads also lagged, getting 32% approval.
And while brands have been aggressively deploying influencers across social media in recent years, Super Bowl viewers don’t have much taste for them appearing in Big Game ads, with only 20% of respondents favoring such casting—although influencers drew 40% support from Gen Zers.
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Also, the Super Bowl may not lead to the sales bump brands are banking on—just 15% of those surveyed said they are more likely to purchase from a brand if it airs a Super Bowl ad, though this increased to 27% for Gen Zers and 20% for millennials.
The survey (above) ran from Jan. 12 to Jan. 17, with over 1,800 respondents across generations. The goal was to find out what kind of tone and content viewers want to see in the ads, how they feel about the halftime show and how they’ll be tuning in to the Big Game. Respondents could choose multiple tones and casting decisions they want to see reflected in this year’s ads. The poll defined Gen Z as those ages 18 to 27 years old, millennials as 28 to 42, Gen X as 43 to 58 and Boomers as 59 to 77.
“The Super Bowl remains a rare moment of lighthearted national unity for Americans, which explains why the number one attribute likely viewers want to see in Super Bowl ads is humor,” Harris Poll CEO Will Johnson stated. “Americans are excited for the gameplay, the halftime show and the ads, and they want the levity of their viewing experience to be reflected in the big game's advertisements.”
Using humor or animals is a tried-and-true Super Bowl tactic. Seven of the last 10 top Super Bowl commercials as rated by USA Today’s Ad Meter used humor, while the remaining three were heartfelt and focused on dogs, including last year’s The Farmer’s Dog spot and Budweiser’s spots from 2015 and 2014.
The poll revealed a generational divide on some topics. For instance, baby boomers were most averse to ads with a diversity theme, with just 14% approving, compared with 31% approval from Gen Zers, and 32% from millennials. Only 19% of boomers favored putting people of color in the ads and just 10% supported LGBTQ+ casting. That compares with 40% of Gen Zers and 33% of millennials who said they want to see people of color, with 23% and 19% of Gen Zers and millennials backing LGBTQ+ representation, respectively.
For the overall population, animals took the top slot in terms of ad content, with nearly half of respondents saying they want to see critters in Super Bowl ads. Athletes came in second (42%) followed by TV and movie characters (42%), and then celebrities (41%). The preference for laughter, animals, and characters was also reflected in an October report by System1, which found that using brand characters and slogans, and dogs and babies, leads to higher brand recall and more positive sentiment.
For Gen Z specifically, the poll found that TV or movie characters were the most popular casting option with 58%, followed by athletes (54%), celebrities (53%), influencers (45%) and animals (44%).
The distaste for purpose-driven ads is consistent with a 2023 report by Morning Consult, which found that most Americans don’t want brands to take stands on social, corporate, or cultural issues. In those findings, general statements about diversity in the workforce had widespread support, but there is less support for backing LGBTQ+ rights, especially among older Americans.
In some good news for brands that have shelled out an estimated $7 million for 30 seconds of airtime in the Feb. 11 game on CBS, there seems to be more excitement around the game this year. According to the survey, 76% of respondents said they plan to watch the Super Bowl this year, up from 63% who said they watched last year. Of those who plan to tune in, over half say they will watch the standard broadcast on CBS or Univision (which has the Spanish-language broadcast). Another 21% plan to stream it on Paramount+, and 7% say they will watch the Nickelodeon simulcast, but that jumps up to 12% for Gen Z.
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Last year’s Super Bowl drew an average of 7 million streams, up 18% from the year prior, according to Fox, which counted audiences streaming on Fox.com, the Fox app, as well as NFL digital properties. The 2023 game’s total audience, across digital and linear Fox, was 115 million, making it the most-watched game in history.
But for brands hoping to make a splash on social media, only a quarter of all respondents said they plan to use social media during the broadcast. That tendency goes up for younger viewers—44% of Gen Zers and 38% of millennials said they will be checking social media during the game.
When it comes to actual gameplay, 76% of respondents are excited to see the actual game, with Gen Xers particularly interested at 81%. Gen Xers are also the most excited to watch the ads, coming in at 72% compared to 64% of the general population. When it comes to the halftime show, which this year stars Usher, 85% of Gen Zers are most excited about that part of the broadcast, followed by millennials (74%), Gen Xers, (69%) and then Boomers (49%).
