With its Tremendous Bowl commercials this 12 months Meta is leaning into promoting’s largest stage as Mark Zuckerberg ramps up his spending on AI.
The corporate’s two advert spots, that are set to air throughout the first and third quarters of Sunday’s matchup between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, spotlight the corporate’s AI-enabled Oakley Meta sensible glasses, and have ex-Seahawks participant Marshawn Lynch, YouTuber Darren Watkins Jr. (also called IShowSpeed) in addition to director Spike Lee.
Whereas in 2006, a 30-second Tremendous Bowl advert slot value about $2.5 million, NBC stated this 12 months slots averaged about $8 million for 30 seconds, with a handful promoting for $10 million or extra.
Whereas it’s unclear precisely how a lot Meta paid, the community’s price ticket is just one a part of the general value, stated Kimberly Whitler, an affiliate professor of enterprise administration on the College of Virginia’s Darden College of Enterprise. The corporate additionally has to bear in mind superstar expertise, widespread music licensing, and manufacturing prices, which may add $5 million or extra on high, she advised Fortune.
Meta didn’t instantly reply to Fortune‘s request for touch upon the price of its Tremendous Bowl advertisements.
And the spending hardly ever stops when the ultimate whistle blows. Within the days and weeks after, the corporate might proceed to amplify the advert with social media posts and campaigns to increase its shelf life.
“When you add together, not just the cost of the airtime but also the cost to produce and deliver the ad, and then all of the other things that go into supporting, amplifying the awareness and effect of the ad, the cost can be really significant,” stated Whitler.
And but, the potential value of Meta’s promoting efforts linked to the Tremendous Bowl is nothing in comparison with the spending spree CEO Zuckerberg has launched into as he goes all in on his imaginative and prescient of “personal superintelligence.”
Zuckerberg has beforehand stated sensible glasses, like its personal, may grow to be “our main computing devices” because of AI. Meta is already pouring billions into its AI efforts and expects 2026 capital expenditures to hit $115 billion-$135 billion, practically double the $72 billion it spent final 12 months.
On the identical time, Meta laid off 10%, or round 1,500 folks, in its Actuality Labs division as the corporate shifted its focus from digital actuality and the metaverse to wearables comparable to its Meta AI Glasses, the Wall Road Journal reported.
Whitler, who has studied Tremendous Bowl promoting over the previous 11 years, stated Meta’s objective might not solely be to spice up gross sales of its sensible glasses. She famous that Meta’s Actuality Labs division, which incorporates its Meta AI Glasses operation, brings in marginal income at round $2.21 billion for 2025, or about 1% of the corporate’s whole income of about $200 billion.
“They’re not just communicating to consumers, they’re also communicating to investors who watch these ads,” stated Whitler. “They’re reinforcing this kind of view that the company is very innovative.”
Buyers, she added, are all the time in search of further perception into the corporate’s future efficiency, and a Tremendous Bowl advert could make a product really feel extra actual than a press launch or earnings-call point out.
“The ad that brings the technology to life, I can read about it, but when I see the ad, I experience it in a much more visceral, vivid way,” she stated.
In contrast to different tech firms comparable to Microsoft whose AI spending has partly held again its inventory, buyers for now have rewarded Meta’s large AI bets as the corporate’s income elevated 24% 12 months over 12 months thanks partly to robust promoting outcomes fueled by AI. Till this week, when tech shares retreated throughout the board, Meta’s shares had been steadily rising, placing the corporate’s shares up year-over-year at its latest peak shut of $738 on Jan. 29, in comparison with $676 a 12 months prior.
Whereas manufacturers get sticker shock on advertisements for the large recreation, the Tremendous Bowl continues to be essential, even in a fragmented consideration financial system, Whitler stated, and there’s no different comparable strategy to attain Individuals en masse.
“There’s no other time during the year where people actually treat the ads as if they’re something to be watched versus something to be ignored.”
