Super Bowl commercials spots: the incredibly expensive price tag

Advertisers shelled out $8 million on average for a 30-second spot during Super Bowl LIX, but advertisers say the high-cost commercials are definitely worth it.

For some fans, Super Bowl commercials are as big a part of the experience than the game itself.

This year, prices for a 30-second spot got up to about $8 million in the weeks leading up to the game. Through the years, the high-profile opportunity in America's biggest sporting event has produced some of the most memorable commercials in American history.

Brands and advertisers with millions riding on the success of commercials to be aired during the 2025 Super Bowl broadcast are also hoping to score. Here's a look at how much money goes into Super Bowl ads, and why advertisers say the high-cost commercials are worth it.

Peter Bray, founder and executive creative director at ad agency Bray & Co., told CBS MoneyWatch. He estimates that around 51 minutes of advertising has been sold for the approximately three to four hour broadcast this year, making the total amount of ad sales somewhere in the hundreds of millions.

The close to $8 million price tag is almost a million dollars more than the $7 million it cost for a 30-second spot in Super Bowl 2024. Commercial air time during the NFL Championship in 2023 was also about $7 million for 30 seconds, a 55% jump from 2019. Super Bowl advertising costs are "creeping up," said Bray, who believes ad sales for the broadcast will soon reach $1 billion.

"I think in three years it's going to hit a billion dollars in ad sales. And that has never before happened on the planet. That is the immensity of this event," he said.

Why are Super Bowl ads so expensive?

"It's the advertising industry's Super Bowl as well," Bray said. "It's the one time of year where the general public actually cares about advertising so it's an exciting time." 

And social media, he says, has only made the broadcast more important.

"It's actually made advertising in the Super Bowl more relevant than ever because what's happened is with all these different platforms, it's very difficult to find a large audience at once," Bray said. "Someone might advertise as an advertiser on TikTok, or on Instagram ... all of these different advertising opportunities. But you might be duplicating because the audience on TikTok, maybe 90% are the same audience on Instagram, so there's a lot of duplication."

More than 120 million people are expected to watch Super Bowl LIX on Sunday, which will be broadcast on Fox and livestreamed for free on Tubi. To keep those viewers transfixed, brands will try to use humor, emotion or a famous actor to create a cultural moment that a mass audience can engage with collectively. 

"Comedy can be a safe route for brands, and you don't want to divide your audience at all, so comedy makes sense. There's more celebrities being used than ever," Bray said.

Depending on a celebrity's level of fame, they can add anywhere from less than $50,000 for a brief cameo to millions of dollars. Bray said he estimates the tab for most stars that appear in a Super Bowl spot to be in the $2 million range.

Dunkin' spends big — and wins

For his role in a Dunkin' ad last year, meanwhile, Ben Affleck was paid nearly $10 million; it was his second appearance in a Super Bowl commercial for the global donut and coffee giant. 

Dunkin' first featured Affleck — a Boston native and actual Dunkin' donuts fan — in its inaugural Super Bowl ad in 2023. The 30-second spot, which included a cameo of his then wife, Jennifer Lopez, garnered 7 billion impressions for the company after its first airing, according to Dunkin' President Scott Murphy in a 2024 interview with Entreprenuer magazine. The ad was produced by Artists Equity, a company founded by Affleck and Matt Damon in 2022.

A multipart campaign followed, including a promotion featuring Gen Z rapper Ice Spice. The storyline culminated with Dunkin's 2024 Super Bowl ad, a comedic 60-second spot that introduces the characters The DunKings, an aspirational rap group Affleck forms with Matt Damon and Tom Brady, dressed in bright orange and pink track suits. 

One year and many sold-out track suits later, Dunkin' and Affleck return for their third Super Bowl ad collaboration, which features Casey Affleck and "Succession" star Jeremy Strong. 

"Ben Affleck is a great combination with Dunkin'," said Bray, "Not because of him as an actor or director, but how he's perceived in popular culture. "Jeremy Strong from 'Succession,' he's a kooky guy, but he's known as a method actor. Dunkin' know this ... they're connecting who these celebrities are as people rather than actors to the brands. And that makes for a really powerful ad."

What is the most expensive Super Bowl ad ever aired?

The most expensive Super Bowl commercial of all time is Amazon's "Mind Reader" ad, which aired during Super Bowl LVI in 2022. Featuring real-life couple Scarlett Johansson and comedian Colin Jost from "SNL," the 90-second spot is reported to have cost $26 million to produce, according to experience management site Qualtrics.

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