Why do companies pay around $5 million to run a 30-second ad during the Super Bowl?

It’s all about reach. More than 111 million Americans tuned in for the big game in 2018, which makes it one of the most lucrative advertising opportunities in the the US, next to the Olympics. 

And drinks brands are eager to share their message with that huge audience. 

The Beer Institute released the results of its latest survey this week, which found 76% of Americans celebrating the Super Bowl this year plan to drink beer as part of their festivities.

Additionally, the poll found 78% of those planning to enjoy beer while taking part in Super Bowl activities said it was an important part of the experience, with half of those respondents saying beer was very important to their Super Bowl celebration.

AB InBev leads the pack with exclusive alcohol advertising rights during the game. This year it will feature five of its brands during Super Bowl, including Bon & Viv Spiked Seltzer, Bud, Bud Light, Michelob Ultra and Stella. It will air four 45-second spots, three 30-second spots and one 60-second ad.

Aussie wine brand [yellow tail] has been cleverly stealing a piece of the action over the past three years, getting around the AB InBev deal with a regional buying strategy.

Last year, the brand opted to bought local Super Bowl ads in 70 markets across the US. This year its upping the ante with ads in 80 local markets, with an ad spend of around $6million.

Here we look at the ads that have people talking …

[yellow tail] wine will debut its new “Tastes Like Happy” ad campaign with a new 30-second TV spot airing during the Super Bowl on Sunday, kicking it all off on its third Big Game in a row.

In 2017, [yellow tail], became the first wine brand in almost 40 years to advertise during the Big Game. Fans responded, leading the brand to its strongest sales in years.

The brand experienced even more success in 2018, as it aired its second TV ad. Yellow Tail was up +8% for January and February 2017 according to Nielsen and sales increased +2% in January and +5% in February 2018 following pre-game releases of the Super Bowl ads online and its airing during the game itself.

For the first time, [yellow tail] will feature two entirely fan-produced video segments as part of its commercial. In November, [yellow tail] launched a contest asking consumers to share videos showing what makes them happy. [ yellow tail ] received more than 1,500 fan submissions to its website and social pages.

“[ yellow tail ] brings people together to share their happiness,” said Tom Steffanci, President of Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits, the US importer and marketer for [yellow tail].. “[yellow tail] is the most followed wine brand on social media and the most popular imported wine brand in America because of the love and loyalty of our consumers. It was a natural step forward to feature real [ yellow tail ] fans in our new Big Game commercial.”

Many of the contest submissions depict time with family and friends. The most popular activities shared were dancing and singing. Selected by a panel of more than 10 judges, the Grand Prize winner was Adrien Colon, dancing the salsa on a magical flat rock on a beach in Ibiza, Spain.

The runner up prize winner is Katherine Nunez and the video of her swinging from a rope off a boat high above a beautiful bay in Aruba will also be featured in the commercial. Her video was shot by Nunez’s husband while the two were on their honeymoon.The new campaign will also run on YouTube, Buzzfeed and iHeartRadio in 30 and 15 second versions.

AB InBev’s Pure Gold, an organic beer under its Michelob Ultra brand will make its Super Bowl debut with an ad featuring a YouTube phenomenon called ASMR.

Since its launch just after last year’s Super Bowl, Pure Gold has surpassed $59 million in sales according to Azania Andrews, vice president of Michelob Ultra.

She estimates that 8% of Pure Gold’s volume is coming from consumers who are new to the category.

“You can anticipate that kind of growth to continue,” Andrews told CNBC. “We’ve just scratched the surface for Pure Gold.”

The beer is made with organic grains and contains only 85 calories per 12 ounces.

The Pure Gold commercial features actress Zoe Kravitz, daughter of Lenny Kravitz. In the ad, Kravitz uses autonomous sensory meridian response (AMSR) techniques like whispering and tapping a Pure Gold bottle into microphones.

AB InBev is hoping an environmental message will be a winner in its Budweiser Super Bowl ad. The ad, which has Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” as its backing track, celebrates the brewer’s use of wind power in its operations.

“It’s more than just beer,” Angie Slaughter, AB InBev’s vice president of sustainability, told USA Today. “This commercial is for everyone. It’s something we should be thinking about every day.”

AB InBev has bought five and a half minutes of air time during the Super Bowl 2019, its biggest media spend for the event to date.

Pepsi’s advertisement stars actor Steve Carell, and singers Cardi B and Lil Jon. It takes on a humorous and playful approach to directly address the exchange people have often been asked by restaurant wait staff when ordering a certain cola – “Is Pepsi OK?” instead.

“Every day, there are millions of people who enjoy Pepsi – people who love this brand – yet they continue to be asked ‘Is Pepsi OK?,'” said Todd Kaplan, Vice President of Marketing, Pepsi. “We felt that it was time to address this question head-on, by celebrating our fans, our valued restaurant partners, and our core consumers by unapologetically letting everyone know that Pepsi is way more than OK. With the help of a star-studded lineup, we’re taking this concept, and playfully flipping it on its head to show the world how refreshing, exhilarating, and downright awesome a delicious ice-cold Pepsi truly is.”

Stella Artois’s ad stars Sarah Jessica Parker reprising her character Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City in the clip, while Jeff Bridges appears as his character from The Big Lebowski.

As the music from Sex and the City plays, a waiter asks Carrie if she would like a Cosmopolitan.

She replies: “Nope, tonight I’ll have a Stella Artois”, causing the music to stop, people to spill food and drinks and a fire to start in the kitchen.

Bridges then wanders in, in character as The Dude from The Big Lebowski, and also decides against his favourite White Russian in favour of a Stella.

The pair sit at adjoining tables and congratulate each other on their choice, as the slogan “Change up the usual” appears on the screen.

The ad was created by Stella Artois together with Water.org co-founders Matt Damon and Gary White to help end the global water crisis.