The spread of ‘the Super Bowl effect’
Since it began in 1966, the NFL’s annual league championship game has become so much bigger than just a big game, frequently commanding the largest audience among all American broadcasts during the year. Alexander Michaelsen, ECD of Jung von Matt SPORTS analyses how the showbiz around the Super Bowl is encouraging global sporting events to up their game.
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As Super Bowl LIX approaches, speculation is ramping up; not just about the game itself and its famous ads, but about the halftime show and its headline performer, the Grammy award-winning Kendrick Lamar.
A hip-hop star like Lamar pulls in fans from different spheres, making Super Bowl halftime shows even more of a pop culture moment.
There has been controversy around Lamar’s selection, with his feud with rapper Drake very much in the spotlight, some local right-wing politicians in New Orleans feel the show should be more ‘family friendly’. But those in the advertising world will also be watching Lamar’s show closely, as a marker of the influence that the Super Bowl is having on global sporting events.
Above: The Super Bowl arena in 2024.
You can really feel the involvement of live entertainment strategists Roc Nation in the Super Bowl over the past few years, in terms of bringing more progressive artists into the picture. Whereas huge mainstream artists have performed at the Super Bowl in the past, a hip-hop star like Lamar brings in a more inclusive audience, pulling in fans from different spheres and making Super Bowl halftime shows even more of a pop culture moment.
European sporting events are taking note of this convergence between music and sports.
This builds on last year, where Taylor Swift’s appearance at the Super Bowl as a spectator, and the subsequent evolution of her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce, into a bona fide celebrity, also helped to bring the Super Bowl to the attention of music fans.
European sporting events are taking note of this convergence between music and sports; for example Lenny Kravitz played at the 2024 UEFA Champions League final at Wembley Stadium, and Linkin’ Park is lined up to be playing this year. It’s not necessarily about a halftime shows however; smartly, the Kravitz show took place before kick off in order to appeal more to European viewers who are not yet used to a big halftime break (for soccer fans, especially those whose team might be losing, it may not be a good idea to have a lengthy halftime pause).
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Above: Taylor Swift’s appearance at the Super Bowl as a spectator helped to bring the Super Bowl to the attention of music fans.
But with the NFL investing heavily in Europe and holding high profile halftime shows – for example, Machine Gun Kelly performed in Munich at the NFL’s final international game last November – soccer is having to step up. European viewers are getting used to the idea that a game can also be a once in a lifetime opportunity to see a well-known artist perform.
Music isn’t the only thing being influenced by the popularity of the Super Bowl in Europe
Music isn’t the only thing being influenced by the popularity of the Super Bowl in Europe, I predict that so too will be the idea of sporting fixtures as ‘event’ advertising, where brands launch new campaigns and audiences even look forward to the ad breaks.
Again there are cultural differences. European audiences are not used to endless ad breaks; unlike NFL, where the action frequently stops, there is usually just one halftime break and much of that taken up by expert analysis. However, I believe there are opportunities to create additional advertising slots - for example, there is dead time awaiting VAR decisions that could be filled.
Above: Machine Gun Kelly performing in Munich at the NFL’s final international game last November.
I can also see brands making more campaigns tailor-made for American football as the game gains popularity in Europe. In Germany now, NFL games are being shown at a primetime slot of 8.15pm, something that wouldn’t have been contemplated a few years ago. This year will see the first regular NFL matches in Berlin and this will attract a more international audience – so we can expect to see more on the ground activations.
Advertising by individual NFL teams has also increased… It’s a hugely interesting field that is still in the making.
Advertising by individual NFL teams has also increased, with different teams allowed to advertise in different markets (for example we work with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Germany). It’s a hugely interesting field that is still in the making.
And while there is much that NFL can learn from European sporting events – for example how to engage a fan base sensitively – the NFL’s influence on European soccer can’t be underestimated– it will force the sport to up its game in terms of commercialisation and entertainment.
