The Super Bowl is consistently one of the biggest, if not the biggest sporting event of the year. Viewership regularly tops 110 million nationwide as fans tune in to see who gets crowned National Champion. As a current Delawarean, Philadelphia Eagles football is a big deal in my neck of the woods, and there was no shortage of hype in the area. I'll always be a long suffering Minnesota Vikings fan myself, but I certainly understand the excitement and loyalty that the Eagles generate. Despite losing a tough game to Kansas City in the final seconds of the 4th quarter, I have no doubt that folks will be talking about the game and the season for some time to come. Folks will also be talking about the Super Bowl commercials.
As of late, the anticipation for Super Bowl commercials has become almost as high as the game itself. Companies release trailers in advance, tease big name celebrities, and perhaps most significantly, invest millions of dollars into the ads and surrounding campaigns. The price of 30-second ads during the Super Bowl has risen steadily in the last 20 years, and now averages around 7 million dollars. With approximately 50 minutes of ad space throughout the game, that amounts to as much as 700 million dollars in advertising. 700 million dollars.
In some ways, and for some, perhaps that sum is a mere drop in the bucket. Heck, just ask Elon Musk and Rupert Murdoch. They were sitting next to each other at the game. However, when taken as a high profile symbol of a larger capitalist culture, it's hard not to wonder how much better off we'd be if we spent our money differently. Free will and freedom of choice and speech mean we get to blow our money on anything we want. In fact, our society is in some ways predicated on the assumption that we will continue to invest in things that only give us temporary happiness and avoid investing in our long term wellbeing and that of others.
The argument for deregulation and a free market economy has been strong for the last 40 years. Things will work themselves out naturally if we just give it time. The market, and by extension, our society, will right itself given enough time. Well, that clearly hasn't happened as we witness unprecedented income inequity, mental health concerns, violence, racism, sexism and oppression more broadly. Whether you are talking about a company, a university, or a country, show me the money and I'll show you what they truly value.
Until we start paying more attention to book bans and less attention to Uber ads, we will continue to do exactly what the expert consultants that designed the ads predicted would happen. We aren't going to stop living in a capitalist system anytime soon, but that doesn't mean we can't make other decisions about how to spend that money. In the meantime, we'll continue unconsciously engaging in emotional appeals and shallow messaging. Keep following the money, and pay attention to the cliches along the way.
