Trivia 12 of 30

How expensive were the first Super Bowl ad spots?

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How expensive were the first Super Bowl ad spots?

The first AFL–NFL World Championship Game, “The Super Bowl” (known retroactively as “Super Bowl I”) was played between the American Football League’s (AFL’s) Kansas City Chiefs and the National Football League’s (NFL’s) Green Bay Packers on January 15, 1967 (Wikipedia.org).

Marching bands, drill teams, and flag girls perform at Super Bowl I in 1967.

Marching bands, drill teams, and flag girls perform at Super Bowl I in 1967. Photo: Jimberg13

Modern Super Bowl ad spots

Modern-day Super Bowls are now famous for their ads. In fact, over 17% of adults say that ads are the most important part of the event (NRF.com). These spots are some of the most coveted and expensive of all TV broadcasts. Thirty-second spots during the Super Bowl now cost upwards of $6.5 million (NBCLosAngeles.com).

Squarespace’s Super Bowl 2022 commercial, featuring actor, musician, and fashion icon Zendaya, is an example of a modern Super Bowl ad. Created by Squarespace’s in-house creative team, the commercial is directed by Edgar Wright (Baby Driver, Shaun of the Dead) and features narration and a short cameo by Andre 3000 of Outkast fame (FastCompany.com).

Squarespace's Super Bowl 2022 commercial feat Zendaya.

Cost of ad spots during Super Bowl I

How does $6.5 million compare to ad spots from 56 years ago, during Super Bowl I? Answer: it’s way, way more.

In 1967, ad spots for Super Bowl I cost $37,500, or about $333,230 in today’s money (Forbes.com). That means Super Bowl ad spots are now almost 20 times more expensive than when they first started. Their cost has increased almost 2,000% since then!

Ads have always ruled the game

Ads have been incredibly important to the Super Bowl right from the get-go. During that first game back in 1967, an interview with half-time entertainer Bob Hope ran long, which meant that the second half had restarted even though NBC was still suck on commercials. Viewers missed the kickoff! Once the referees realized NBC was still on break, they called the ball dead, forcing a second kickoff so that everyone watching at home could witness it. Commercials have always dictated the pace of the game, rather than the other way around (Smithsonianmag.com).

The ads of Super Bowl I

The earliest commercials aired during the first Super Bowl have not aged well. “This flat tire needs a man,” declares the Goodyear tire narrator in this commercial:

Goodyear's slightly chauvinistic TV ad aired during Super Bowl I.

Other ads that aired during the game came from Ford, Chrysler, RCA, RJ Reynolds Tobacco, McDonald’s, and Budweiser, among others.

Naming the Super Bowl

The story goes that Lamar Hunt, the owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, came up with the name after watching his daughter play with her Wham-O Super Ball, the “it” toy of Christmas ’66 (Smithsonianmag.com).

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