Universal and Turkish Airlines Are Betting Big on Super Bowl Ads
Skift Take
From what we've seen so far, travel brands with Super Bowl teasers are staying away from the culture wars and focusing on sending neutral messages with universal appeal. And while it's important to draw attention to certain issues, it's refreshing to watch light-hearted advertisements, too.
No one knows who will win Super Bowl LII on Sunday, but the handful of travel brands running ads during the game are betting millions of dollars that they'll score a swell of bookings and eyeballs during the annual most-watched TV program in the United States.
So far, teasers for ads from Turkish Airlines and Universal Parks & Resorts have been released (watch below) and there's speculation whether other travel companies that traditionally run ads during the Super Bowl, like Disney, will make a return.
As the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles prepare for game time in Minneapolis, Minnesota in a few days, many Super Bowl viewers are likely more interested in watching the highly coveted ads as much as the game itself. It's that sentiment that some brands will capitalize on and hope for a big pay-off.
For the 2018 game, the average 30-second ad costs about $5 million. Some 110 million people are expected to watch the game in the U.S. and around the world, making it the world's largest single TV audience.
The cost of a 30-second Super Bowl ad has grown more than 85 percent since 2008, when ads for the game cost about $2.7 million, for example.
Some brands such as Airbnb that ran an ad during last year's Super Bowl won't be returning this year. Airbnb released a new ad this week that ran during U.S. President Donald Trump's State of the Union address on Tuesday. The ad featured Haiti, El Salvador, and various African countries in response to the president's disparaging remarks last month about those countries.
Airbnb's new ad is in line with the theme of diversity and inclusivity that ch
