Musing of the month: May 2025

Gimme cold foam! Gimmie cold fooaaammm!

Greetings readers!

Today, I wanted to highlight an ad from "the big game". This past Super Bowl was one where the festivities were more exciting than the game itself. Kendrick Lamar's halftime show and the ads helped bring up the vibes since the Chiefs were destroyed. The great Shania Twain blessed our screens with this disturbing, but addictive commercial.

Now for a take that I've held on to for many years. Every major sport should present itself as a"big game" space for companies to air commercials. The World Series, the NBA Finals, and the Stanley Cup come to mind. The World Series and Stanley Cup have seen increases in their yearly averages for their biggest events. Each league would benefit from treating its events like the Super Bowl does. According to Adweek, Super Bowl viewership numbers averaged 127.7 million viewers this past year. You cannot guarantee these numbers again because of the many variables. It was a Super Bowl rematch between the two best teams in the league and a potential 3-peat. The Halftime performance was Kendrick taking a victory lap in one of the most high-profile Rap Beefs ever. Another star-studded game can be advertised for next year, but the Halftime performance won't bring those viewers. So there should be no fear from other sports leagues to match that. This would be an expensive venture, as many companies fund one huge ad for the Super Bowl. This may present challenges for some, but a company like Mars Inc.'s M&M can certainly afford it. There is a space for more elaborate and wacky advertisements that can exist after February every year. An example I think of is "The Game Awards". The Game Awards usurped E3's audience and life. They have become a huge ad space while also celebrating the industry with these game reveals. In a world with endless events, I would love to see "Big Game Ads" become more than a football thing.

That's my take on it, what's yours?

I hope you enjoyed this musing and I'm sorry in advance for this earworm.