How much money has been spent on advertising in the first 51 years of the Super Bowl? A total of $4.9 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. 5's Super Bowl LI broadcast on Fox will total a record $385 million, according to Ad Age Datacenter's estimate. That's more than advertisers spent on the Super Bowl in the 1960s, '70s and '80s combined ($299 million).
Super Bowl ad spending, 1967-2017: $4.9 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 51 years: $4.9 billion ($6.3 billion, adjusted for inflation).
| In-game ad spending: Average cost for 30-second spot |
In-game ad spending: Total ad spending ($ million) |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super Bowl No. | Year | Adjusted for inflation |
Adjusted for inflation |
||
| 1 | 1967 | $40,000 | $294,000 | $2 | $13 |
| 2 | 1968 | 54,000 | 383,000 | 2 | 16 |
| 3 | 1969 | 67,500 | 458,000 | 3 | 20 |
| 4 | 1970 | 78,200 | 500,000 | 3 | 22 |
| 5 | 1971 | 72,000 | 437,000 | 3 | 19 |
| 6 | 1972 | 86,000 | 506,000 | 4 | 22 |
| 7 | 1973 | 103,500 | 587,000 | 4 | 25 |
| 8 | 1974 | 107,000 | 555,000 | 5 | 24 |
| 9 | 1975 | 110,000 | 510,000 | 5 | 22 |
| 10 | 1976 | 125,000 | 543,000 | 5 | 23 |
| 11 | 1977 | 162,000 | 669,000 | 7 | 29 |
| 12 | 1978 | 185,000 | 716,000 | 8 | 31 |
| 13 | 1979 | 222,000 | 786,000 | 10 | 34 |
| 14 | 1980 | 275,000 | 854,000 | 12 | 37 |
| 15 | 1981 | 324,300 | 901,000 | 14 | 39 |
| 16 | 1982 | 345,000 | 884,000 | 15 | 38 |
| 17 | 1983 | 400,000 | 989,000 | 20 | 49 |
| 18 | 1984 | 450,000 | 1,067,000 | 21 | 51 |
| 19 | 1985 | 500,000 | 1,146,000 | 26 | 60 |
| 20 | 1986 | 550,000 | 1,213,000 | 28 | 62 |
| 21 | 1987 | 575,000 | 1,250,000 | 31 | 68 |
| 22 | 1988 | 600,000 | 1,254,000 | 35 | 73 |
| 23 | 1989 | 675,000 | 1,347,000 | 35 | 71 |
| 24 | 1990 | 700,000 | 1,328,000 | 39 | 74 |
| 25 | 1991 | 800,000 | 1,437,000 | 46 | 82 |
| 26 | 1992 | 800,000 | 1,400,000 | 48 | 84 |
| 27 | 1993 | 850,000 | 1,441,000 | 49 | 84 |
| 28 | 1994 | 900,000 | 1,488,000 | 52 | 86 |
| 29 | 1995 | 1,150,000 | 1,850,000 | 70 | 112 |
| 30 | 1996 | 1,085,000 | 1,699,000 | 65 | 102 |
| 31 | 1997 | 1,200,000 | 1,823,000 | 72 | 109 |
| 32 | 1998 | 1,292,000 | 1,933,000 | 80 | 120 |
| 33 | 1999 | 1,600,000 | 2,354,000 | 103 | 152 |
| 34 | 2000 | 2,100,000 | 3,007,000 | 132 | 189 |
| 35 | 2001 | 2,200,000 | 3,037,000 | 136 | 188 |
| 36 | 2002 | 2,200,000 | 3,003,000 | 134 | 183 |
| 37 | 2003 | 2,150,000 | 2,860,000 | 130 | 173 |
| 38 | 2004 | 2,302,000 | 3,005,000 | 150 | 195 |
| 39 | 2005 | 2,400,000 | 3,042,000 | 158 | 201 |
| 40 | 2006 | 2,500,000 | 3,048,000 | 163 | 198 |
| 41 | 2007 | 2,385,000 | 2,848,000 | 151 | 181 |
| 42 | 2008 | 2,700,000 | 3,092,000 | 186 | 213 |
| 43 | 2009 | 3,000,000 | 3,435,000 | 213 | 244 |
| 44 | 2010 | 2,974,000 | 3,318,000 | 205 | 229 |
| 45 | 2011 | 3,100,000 | 3,403,000 | 228 | 250 |
| 46 | 2012 | 3,500,000 | 3,733,000 | 263 | 280 |
| 47 | 2013 | 4,000,000 | 4,199,000 | 292 | 307 |
| 48 | 2014 | 4,200,000 | 4,340,000 | 332 | 343 |
| 49 | 2015 | 4,400,000 | 4,551,000 | 345 | 357 |
| 50 | 2016 | 4,800,000 | 4,898,000 | 370 | 377 |
| 51 | 2017 | 5,000,000 | 5,000,000 | 385 | 385 |
| Total | $4,897 | $6,345 | |||
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 from Ad Age Datacenter (1967-1981, 2017) and Kantar Media (1982-2016). Inflation adjustments, from Ad Age, translate previous years' ad costs and spending into estimated current (2017) 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: $6.3 billion.
- Super Bowl LI's estimated share of 2017 U.S. broadcast network TV ad spending: Record 2.3%, nearly 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 LI: $5.0 million.
- Average cost of 30 seconds in Super Bowl I: $40,000 ($294,000, adjusted for inflation).
- Price per second for a 2017 commercial: $166,667. That's 125 times the cost for a second on Super Bowl I ($1,333).
- Amount spent per viewer in 2016 on in-game advertising, based on estimated total ad spending divided by Nielsen's average number of viewers: $3.30, a record high.
- Number of years that 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; 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
| 1967 | $1,333
|
| 1977 | $5,400
|
| 1987 | $19,167
|
| 1997 | $40,000
|
| 2007 | $79,500
|
| 2017 | $166,667
|
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: reached $5 million.
Super Bowl ad spending by decade
Ad spending in Super Bowl LI (Feb. 5, 2017; estimated $385 million) will exceed ad spending on the big game in the 1960s, '70s and '80s ($299 million). Total over 51 years: $4.9 billion.
Source: Ad Age Datacenter analysis. Numbers rounded. See source line in main accompanying graphic.
