{"id":113889,"date":"2026-02-08T18:12:28","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T18:12:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2026\/02\/08\/why-super-bowl-advertisers-keep-pranking-us\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T18:13:44","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T18:13:44","slug":"why-super-bowl-advertisers-keep-pranking-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2026\/02\/08\/why-super-bowl-advertisers-keep-pranking-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Super Bowl Advertisers Keep Pranking Us"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Final month, images circulated on gossip websites like TMZ and MailOnline of actor William Shatner consuming a bowl of Raisin Bran in his automobile and clutching the cereal field as if it have been his most prized possession.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The weird paparazzi pictures had some observers scratching their heads, till Raisin Bran pulled back the curtain<\/a>: Shatner\u2019s cereal-obsessive conduct was only a setup for the model\u2019s Tremendous Bowl marketing campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a method we\u2019ve seen earlier than. Two years in the past, CeraVe pulled the same trick<\/a> with \u201cMichael CeraVe.\u201d Over a couple of weeks in January 2024, actor Michael Cera was noticed toting bottles of CeraVe lotion round New York Metropolis, and stormed out of a podcast interview when requested about his ties to the skincare model. His odd public appearances fueled the rumor mill till CeraVe launched a Tremendous Bowl advert starring the actor.<\/p>\n

Now that the Tremendous Bowl has morphed right into a weeks-long advertising spectacle, pranks and stunts have change into a key a part of advertisers\u2019 playbooks. However because the pranks pile up, what occurs when audiences can predict the joke?<\/p>\n

Maximizing the funding<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The shift towards elaborate stunts comes down to some large modifications within the media panorama.<\/p>\n

Whereas Tremendous Bowl advertisers was solely centered on profitable sport day, the rising value of an advert slot meant \u201cthat single second wasn\u2019t sufficient\u201d to justify the funding, stated Ryan Carroll, govt inventive director of GSD&M.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The value tag of a Tremendous Bowl advert slot has climbed to at the very least $8 million, with NBCUniversal this year selling<\/a> a handful of 30-second Tremendous items for $10 million or extra.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Desirous to seize consideration and get extra bang for his or her buck, over the previous decade, Tremendous Bowl advertisers began turning their commercials into an even bigger second, releasing teasers weeks earlier than the sport. However now teasers are commonplace, too, and \u201cthe pre-Tremendous Bowl window has change into simply as crowded as sport day itself,\u201d Carroll stated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Manufacturers are additionally competing in a crowded panorama on social media, the place consideration is extra fractured than ever. Pranks and stunts are primed for such an setting, stated Ted Kohnen, CEO of Park & Battery.<\/p>\n

\u201cSocial media rewards thriller and hypothesis. A bizarre movie star sighting or sudden activation turns into a breadcrumb path audiences need to resolve,\u201d he stated. \u201cStunts and pranks are a approach to stretch a 30-second advert right into a cultural second.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such stunts additionally attraction extra to youthful audiences who’re \u201cmore and more skeptical of screen-only experiences and drawn to moments that exist in actual life,\u201d stated Benjamin Diedering, founder and CEO of BDX Media.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s subsequent?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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Nowadays, nonetheless, even stunts have gotten extra \u201cpredictable,\u201d making it tougher to face out, Carroll stated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Past CeraVe and Raisin Bran, there was Liquid Death hiring a witch<\/a> to throw hexes from the stands in 2022; Tubi faking<\/a> a streaming outage in 2023; Kendall Jenner bantering together with her ex Devin Booker this 12 months forward of a Fanatics Sportsbook<\/a> advert; and lots of extra.<\/p>\n

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The query for manufacturers now could be whether or not audiences will tire of being pranked\u2014or worse, really feel manipulated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Stunts that work finest lean into \u201cworld constructing and dialog beginning,\u201d stated Graham Douglas, co-founder and artistic director of Gus. Additionally they transfer past explicitly promoting and begin an even bigger dialog, resembling when Rocket Mortgage started an in-stadium singalong<\/a> to John Denver\u2019s \u201cNation Roads\u201d throughout Tremendous Bowl 59, tapping into the common need for residence, Douglas added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bar will hold rising as extra manufacturers try public stunts,\u201d Diedering warned. \u201cA stunt can not survive on shock worth alone. Audiences\u2014particularly Gen Z\u2014can all the time sense when one thing is making an attempt to look rebellious whereas taking part in it too protected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kohnen predicted the subsequent part of profitable pranks and stunts will carry audiences in on the joke.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFuture stunts gained\u2019t simply be watched; they\u2019ll be co-created. Assume real-world moments designed to be found and debated throughout platforms, powered by creators, AI, and dwell information,\u201d he stated. \u201cThe neatest manufacturers will transfer from \u2018Look what we did\u2019 to \u2018Look what you helped uncover.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n