Like a lot of people who will be tuning in to the Super Bowl, I don’t care one way or the other who wins.
I mean, if New England loses, good – Patriots owner Robert Kraft was a special guest of the Trumps for the premiere of “Melania” at the dilapidated and materially unsafe Kennedy Center on Thursday.
Seriously, it’s amazing the building didn’t fall down around them.
But then, the head coach of Seattle, Mike Macdonald, revealed himself to be a big fan of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” noting in a 2024 interview that “it gets a little political, but it’s, whatever.”
So, Seattle can lose, and I’d be fine with that.
They’re both not going to lose, unfortunately, but anyway, we don’t have to root for either.
The Super Bowl is about the commercials, and about the halftime show, which this year features Bad Bunny, which gives us the added bonus of being able to wait to see what nonsense Trump posts on his socials after the Bad Bunny halftime show.
The Super Bowl is a cultural phenomenon more than it is a football game that 80 percent of the audience is only watching because they feel like they have to.
The NFL has a good thing going here.
They’re basically printing money, not so much during the game, but during the commercial breaks.
“At $8 million for 30 seconds,” said Virginia Tech marketing expert Donna Wertalik, “the Super Bowl is no longer just an advertising buy, it is a high‑stakes investment in cultural relevance, where storytelling, inclusivity, and timing matter as much as reach.”
Indeed, as Wertalik notes: “The broadcast is viewed by consumers as entertainment, not just paid media.”
A quick glance at what we can look forward to from the paid media, actually, unfortunately, doesn’t show a whole lot to look forward to.
There’s a Bud Light spot with Post Malone, Peyton Manning and MAGA comic Shane Gillis, something from an online betting company with the vapid Kendall Jenner, a Pepsi commercial with a polar bear – OK, that one, I do want to see.
We also get Ben Affleck hawking donuts, Andy Samberg as Neil Diamond promoting mayonnaise, Ben Stiller, Andy Cohen, Kurt Russell, Gronk doing whatever they’re doing.
Budweiser also has a spot with its Clydesdales and an American eagle trying to promote national unity.
As if.
Eight million for 30 seconds for each of those.
They know we’re all watching, is the reason.
“In an increasingly fragmented media landscape, the Super Bowl continues to be one of the premier mass audience events,” Wertalik said. “The game draws in more than 100 million live viewers and generates conversations that extend well beyond gameday.”
Wertalik has a point there. Forty years ago, we had three channels, and had to get up off the couch to change them.
Now we have a couple thousand channels, plus streaming, plus our phones.
Theoretically, we also have lives to lead outside of the media that we consume.
I’m kidding, I’m kidding.
We’re all bots now.
Wertalik characterized 2026 as a “unicorn year” for visibility, with the Super Bowl happening alongside the Winter Olympics, and the North America-based World Cup coming up in a few months.
“Participation is more competitive — and more critical — as attention becomes harder to capture across overlapping global stages,” Wertalik said.
With so much going on, Wertalik said brands must balance creativity, cultural awareness and strategic integration across platforms.
I’d also advise: pissing off Trump.
Not that, from what I’ve seen, anybody seems to be interested in doing this, but think about it.
The guy posts at 4 a.m. about how pissed off he is at whatever dig your spot took at him, you’re not paying $8 million for those 30 seconds.
Half the country would buy whatever crap you’re selling.
It’s worth thinking about.
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Chris Graham
