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The tight end got a ring. The singer-songwriter did not.
Some Super Bowl LVIII viewers might have missed this outcome if they were too busy looking into DoorDash’s offer to giveaway every item advertised during the Big Game.
Indeed, a major trend among this year’s Super Bowl advertisers was a request for viewers to leave the match behind. Or, at least, turn their focus to another screen to do something else—potentially missing a quarterback sack or, more devastating, another commercial someone else paid up to $7 million to air.
NYX’s spot staring Cardi B, for example, ended with a QR code enticing viewers to see what happens next. TurboTax also flashed a QR code people could follow for a chance to win $1 million. After the Halftime Show, Apple encouraged viewers to log onto Apple Music to hear more Usher. Beyoncé, with help from Verizon, released new music. Snapchat asked viewers to visit a custom website. So did Pfizer.
Early in the program, Ryan Reynolds, timed with a pre-game ad, posted a trailer for the new Deadpool movie on social media. No one, no matter how great at multi-tasking, can concentrate on the two-minute clip and whatever’s happening on CBS at the same time.
“Almost every ad is sending consumers to do something else,” said Anjali Bal, an associate professor of marketing at Babson College. Bal noted this makes sense, since any other channel of communication is less expensive than the Super Bowl.
It’s not a new tactic, of course. Two years ago, during 2022’s Big Game, Coinbase ran an ad that was nothing more than a floating QR code inviting viewers to leave the sporting match. But it is part of an evolving trend in marketing. And as one of America’s last big collective moments watched by millions of consumers, even pulling a fraction of them away is a coup.
“Increasingly, people are no longer passive TV viewers; they seek interactive and engaging experiences, which lead to second-screening,” said Jura Liaukonyte, professor of marketing in Cornell University’s SC Johnson College of Business. “Brands are adapting by meeting audiences where they are, which is increasingly online and on mobile devices.”
