When Super Bowl LII is a wrap on Feb. 4, marketers will have spent a total of some $5.4 billion advertising in the game's first 52 years.
Ad spending for commercials during NBC's Super Bowl LII broadcast is running in the ballpark of $419 million, according to Ad Age Datacenter's estimate. If the average price of a 30-second spot in the game didn't rise appreciably between 2017 and 2018, broadcasters can take solace in the fact that the latest Super Bowl more than doubled marketers' outlay as recently as 2010.
Even more striking: The Super Bowl alone this year will capture about 2.5% of broadcast network advertising for the entire year, double its share in 2010.
Super Bowl ad spending, 1967-2018: $5.4 billion
Average cost for 30-second commercial and estimated total in-game TV ad spending since first Super Bowl in 1967. Total advertising spending over 52 years: $5.4 billion ($6.9 billion, adjusted for inflation).
| In-game ad spending: Average cost for 30-second spot |
In-game ad spending: Total ad spending ($ million) |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super Bowl No. | Year | Adjusted for inflation |
Adjusted for inflation |
||
| 1 | 1967 | $40,000 | $300,000 | $2 | $13 |
| 2 | 1968 | 54,000 | 391,000 | 2 | 17 |
| 3 | 1969 | 67,500 | 468,000 | 3 | 20 |
| 4 | 1970 | 78,200 | 510,000 | 3 | 22 |
| 5 | 1971 | 72,000 | 446,000 | 3 | 19 |
| 6 | 1972 | 86,000 | 516,000 | 4 | 22 |
| 7 | 1973 | 103,500 | 599,000 | 4 | 26 |
| 8 | 1974 | 107,000 | 566,000 | 5 | 24 |
| 9 | 1975 | 110,000 | 521,000 | 5 | 22 |
| 10 | 1976 | 125,000 | 555,000 | 5 | 24 |
| 11 | 1977 | 162,000 | 683,000 | 7 | 29 |
| 12 | 1978 | 185,000 | 730,000 | 8 | 31 |
| 13 | 1979 | 222,000 | 802,000 | 10 | 34 |
| 14 | 1980 | 275,000 | 872,000 | 12 | 37 |
| 15 | 1981 | 324,300 | 919,000 | 14 | 40 |
| 16 | 1982 | 345,000 | 902,000 | 15 | 39 |
| 17 | 1983 | 400,000 | 1,009,000 | 20 | 50 |
| 18 | 1984 | 450,000 | 1,089,000 | 21 | 52 |
| 19 | 1985 | 500,000 | 1,169,000 | 26 | 61 |
| 20 | 1986 | 550,000 | 1,238,000 | 28 | 63 |
| 21 | 1987 | 575,000 | 1,275,000 | 31 | 70 |
| 22 | 1988 | 600,000 | 1,279,000 | 35 | 74 |
| 23 | 1989 | 675,000 | 1,375,000 | 35 | 72 |
| 24 | 1990 | 700,000 | 1,355,000 | 39 | 75 |
| 25 | 1991 | 800,000 | 1,466,000 | 46 | 84 |
| 26 | 1992 | 800,000 | 1,429,000 | 48 | 86 |
| 27 | 1993 | 850,000 | 1,470,000 | 49 | 85 |
| 28 | 1994 | 900,000 | 1,518,000 | 52 | 88 |
| 29 | 1995 | 1,150,000 | 1,887,000 | 70 | 114 |
| 30 | 1996 | 1,085,000 | 1,733,000 | 65 | 104 |
| 31 | 1997 | 1,200,000 | 1,860,000 | 72 | 111 |
| 32 | 1998 | 1,292,000 | 1,972,000 | 80 | 122 |
| 33 | 1999 | 1,600,000 | 2,402,000 | 103 | 155 |
| 34 | 2000 | 2,100,000 | 3,069,000 | 132 | 193 |
| 35 | 2001 | 2,200,000 | 3,099,000 | 136 | 192 |
| 36 | 2002 | 2,200,000 | 3,064,000 | 134 | 187 |
| 37 | 2003 | 2,150,000 | 2,919,000 | 130 | 177 |
| 38 | 2004 | 2,302,000 | 3,066,000 | 150 | 199 |
| 39 | 2005 | 2,400,000 | 3,104,000 | 158 | 205 |
| 40 | 2006 | 2,500,000 | 3,110,000 | 163 | 202 |
| 41 | 2007 | 2,385,000 | 2,906,000 | 151 | 185 |
| 42 | 2008 | 2,700,000 | 3,155,000 | 186 | 218 |
| 43 | 2009 | 3,000,000 | 3,505,000 | 213 | 249 |
| 44 | 2010 | 2,974,000 | 3,385,000 | 205 | 234 |
| 45 | 2011 | 3,100,000 | 3,472,000 | 228 | 255 |
| 46 | 2012 | 3,500,000 | 3,809,000 | 263 | 286 |
| 47 | 2013 | 4,000,000 | 4,285,000 | 292 | 313 |
| 48 | 2014 | 4,200,000 | 4,429,000 | 332 | 350 |
| 49 | 2015 | 4,400,000 | 4,644,000 | 345 | 365 |
| 50 | 2016 | 4,800,000 | 4,998,000 | 370 | 385 |
| 51 | 2017 | 5,050,000 | 5,130,000 | 419 | 426 |
| 52 | 2018 | 5,050,000 | 5,050,000 | 419 | 419 |
| Total | $5,350 | $6,927 | |||
Source: Estimated average unit cost for 30-second in-game commercial from Kantar Media, Nielsen and Ad Age Datacenter. Estimated total in-game ad spending (all spots airing between opening kickoff and final whistle at end of game) from Ad Age Datacenter (1967-1981, 2018) and Kantar Media (1982-2017). Inflation adjustments, from Ad Age, translate previous years' ad costs and spending into estimated current (2018) dollars. Numbers rounded. More info: kantarmedia.com; nielsen.com.
More big-game stats:
- Total ad spending on commercials in the Super Bowl from 1967 through 2017, adjusted for inflation: $6.9 billion.
- Super Bowl LII's estimated share of 2018 U.S. broadcast network TV ad spending: 2.5%, double the level in 2010 (1.2%), four times the level in 1995 (0.6%) and six times the level in 1990 (0.4%).
- Average cost for a 30-second commercial in Super Bowl LII: Just over $5 million.
- Average cost of 30 seconds in Super Bowl I: $40,000 ($300,000, adjusted for inflation).
- Price per second for a 2018 commercial: $168,333. That's more than 125 times the cost for a second on Super Bowl I ($1,333).
- Number of years Super Bowl commercial prices fell: five (1971, 1996, 2003, 2007, 2010).
- Biggest percent increases in price of a commercial: 1968 (35%), the second year of the Super Bowl; and 2000 (31%), when Pets.com and 16 other internet upstarts shoveled cash from venture capital and stock offerings into the game amid the dot-com bubble.
Cost for one second of Super Bowl advertising
Commercial time on last year's game cost an estimated $168,333 per second.
| 1967 | $1,333
|
| 1977 | $5,400
|
| 1987 | $19,167
|
| 1997 | $40,000
|
| 2007 | $79,500
|
| 2017 | $168,333
|
Source: Ad Age Datacenter analysis. See source line in main accompanying graphic.
Milestones in price of a 30-second Super Bowl commercial:
- 1973: topped $100,000.
- 1985: reached $500,000.
- 1995: topped $1 million.
- 2000: topped $2 million.
- 2009: reached $3 million.
- 2013: reached $4 million.
- 2017: topped $5 million.
Super Bowl's share of broadcast network advertising
Estimated Super Bowl total in-game TV ad spending as percent of the year's estimated U.S. broadcast network TV ad spending. The big game this year will capture about 2.5% of broadcast network advertising, double its share in 2010.
Source: Ad Age Datacenter analysis. Estimated total in-game ad spending as percent of Zenith's estimate of full-year network ad spending. Numbers rounded. See source line in main accompanying graphic. More info: zenithmedia.com.
Super Bowl ad spending by decade
Ad spending in last year's Super Bowl (estimated $419 million) exceeded ad spending on the big game in the 1960s, '70s and '80s ($299 million). Total over 52 years: $5.4 billion.
Source: Ad Age Datacenter analysis. Numbers rounded. See source line in main accompanying graphic.
Charts by Chen Wu/Ad Age.
© Copyright 2018 Crain Communications Inc. The data and information presented is the property of Crain and others and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. For personal, noncommercial use only, which must be in accordance with Ad Age's Terms and Conditions at AdAge.com/terms. Archiving, reproduction, re-distribution or other uses are prohibited. For licensing arrangements, please contact [email protected].
Charts by Chen Wu/Ad Age.
© Copyright 2018 Crain Communications Inc. The data and information presented is the property of Crain and others and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. For personal, noncommercial use only, which must be in accordance with Ad Age's Terms and Conditions at AdAge.com/terms. Archiving, reproduction, re-distribution or other uses are prohibited. For licensing arrangements, please contact [email protected].
