Over 60% of Super Bowl ads used celebrities, but most failed to deliver ROI. The few successes, like Ben Affleck for Dunkin', worked because the connection was sincere and pre-existing. Simply paying for fame without a genuine link is a waste of money.

Wix's CMO views expensive brand activities like Super Bowl ads through a dual lens. While building the brand is key, the investment must also generate a measurable spike in relevant user traffic to be considered successful. All marketing, regardless of type, must be treated as an investment.

Bland AI achieved the credibility of a national Super Bowl ad for a fraction of the cost. They bought cheaper, local ad slots in a few cities, produced a high-quality commercial, and used influencers to make it go viral. People outside those markets simply assumed they had missed it.

Anthropic's Super Bowl ad was a massive success within the niche, terminally-online tech community on X (Twitter), but it completely failed with the general public. This demonstrates how hyper-targeted messaging can create a barbell outcome on a mass media stage, excelling with one audience while alienating another, ultimately ranking in the bottom 3% of all Super Bowl ads.

While 68% of Super Bowl ads use celebrities to grab attention, this tactic can backfire. If the celebrity isn't a natural fit for the brand's story, consumers often remember the star but forget the product being advertised, leading to poor brand recall and wasted ad spend.

Anthropic's ad, a clever jab at OpenAI, failed spectacularly with its mass audience. Scoring in the bottom 3% for likability, it proves that "inside baseball" marketing, which resonates with a niche tech audience, often results in widespread confusion and negative perception among the general public.

The massive cost of a Super Bowl ad is only justified if it generates significant pre-game buzz and goes viral on platforms like YouTube. The ad spot itself is merely "permission to be evaluated." The real return comes from the earned media and social chatter leading up to the event.

Despite the high price, GaryVee argues no other platform, including Meta or TikTok, can guarantee 100 million viewers for a 30-second spot at that cost. The media buy itself is an unparalleled deal for attention. However, the ultimate success or failure of the investment hinges entirely on the quality and impact of the ad's creative.

For products valuable only when others use them (like credit cards or social apps), Super Bowl ads are uniquely effective. The value isn't just reaching many eyeballs, but ensuring those eyeballs know *other* eyeballs are also watching, solving the chicken-and-egg adoption problem.