Viewers Are Less Excited About Super Bowl 2023 Ads

This year features another impressive group of Super Bowl ads designed to get people talking, from John Travolta recreating some of his dance moves from Grease to Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul reprising their meth cooking roles from Breaking Bad.

But viewers may not be as excited this year about those Super Bowl commercials. A survey from Zeta Global, a data-driven, cloud-based marketing technology company, finds that only 18% of people are

excited to tune into Super Bowl LVII for the ads.

That’s down from past years, when other surveys have found that roughly 40% to 50% watch the game for the ads—and that number rises even higher among women, up to 60% of whom have said in the past that they watch the Super Bowl for the commercials.

So why the change this year, especially when the pregame hype and quality of ads seem equal to previous years?

“The Super Bowl is an immersive experience with different elements competing for consumers’ attention (game, commercials, halftime show and food), especially now that in-person gatherings are back,” says David. A Steinberg, CEO and co-founder of Zeta. “People are still eager to see commercials (18% of respondents), but the distractions underscore the need for brands to market more efficiently with high-value audience targeting across all channels to break through the noise.”

For instance, people cited other things in the survey that they were more excited about for the game. The largest group, 22%, said they are excited for the game itself, which may reflect their status as NFL superfans—they said they have also tuned in to at least 16 games this season.

Another 16% said they plan to watch the game to see halftime performer Rihanna, who will headline the show for the first time. Last year’s halftime performance with Dr. Dre, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and more drew more than 29 million households, so that’s in line with expectations.

And, as you’d expect for any game that draws non-football fans in such big numbers, 14% say they’re only excited for the snacks. That also bolsters the idea that people are psyched for in-person gatherings.

Those were more rare in 2021, when the Covid-19 vaccine had only recently been released, and many social distancing precautions were in place. Even last year at this time, regional infection surges dampened some plans for in-person celebrations.

Plus, the change in how Super Bowl ads are distributed may also be impacting viewers’ excitement levels. So many companies now release their commercials online before the game, or they give extensive previews, so there’s very little left to surprise viewers during the game.

It’s possible the reduced excitement could last into the future. “It’s not easy to predict what will have viewers interested in the Super Bowl next year until we see this year’s results,” Steinberg says. “But one thing that won’t change—and will continue to be a challenge for marketers—is how brands will compete for eyeballs and act on consumer intent. Marketers that can stay ahead with deeper intelligence, create better omnichannel experiences and have more interesting marketing creative will win the game.