Super Bowl ads look toward the future -- and the past
CTV
Super Bowl advertisers this year want Americans to forget about pandemic woes and focus on the future: of electric vehicles, mind reading Alexas, robots and cryptocurrency -- and also to harken back to the nostalgic past of '90 movies like 'Austin Powers' and 'The Cable Guy.'
The Los Angeles Rams are taking on the Cincinnati Bengals during Super Bowl 56 on Sunday at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. But for many, the big show of the night will be the commercials.
Advertisers are hoping to deliver a dose of escapism with light humor and star-studded entertainment amid the pandemic, high inflation and tensions between Russia and the Ukraine.
"Marketers are recognizing Americans have had a very heavy, difficult two-year period and are responding by bringing some good old-fashioned entertainment for Super Bowl Sunday," said Kimberly Whitler, marketing professor at the University of Virginia.
NBC sold out of its ad space briskly and said an undisclosed number of 30-second spots went for $7 million, a jump from the $6.5 million that last year's ads went for.
