As many of you may know and potentially care about, the Superbowl is tonight- at least as of this writing. By the time you read this, it will be over.

The Superbowl is one of those events that marketing teams take notes from. Which commercials were hits? Who performed at the halftime show, and will it become a meme(like Katy Perry and her left shark) or a magazine cover(like pregnant Rihanna)?

If you have somehow remained blissfully unaware of the Superbowl hype - even I watch it with my partner, and I'm not a big sports fan these days - then it's important that you know that the Superbowl gets a much, much broader reach than other football games.

Your traditional football demographic definitely skews toward men. And all women sports fans out there, I'm not ignoring you; I know women tune into and enjoy football, too. However, the people hitting the couch every Sunday religiously are more often men than women.

The exception? Tonight. The Superbowl is not just a football game. It's a halftime show. It's commercials that promise to be more entertaining than the game itself. It's a family event, a college gathering, a party at your neighbor's house. Everyone is watching, so the demographic is not skewed to men. So what does that mean for marketers?

Well, advertisers this year are paying 7 million dollars - yes, US dollars - for 30 seconds of airtime. Superbowl commercials are truly an advertiser's dream for their reach and, often, their sustained popularity. It's a great chance for brands to debut new products or new ad campaigns that can bring them a return on interest if the commercials are a hit.

Doritos is a great example of this. My fiance can still remember a commercial they premiered during the Superbowl fifteen years ago, and while he(my one case study for this article) claims not to have bought more Doritos after said commercial, brands at large tend to see an increase in sales after advertising during the Superbowl.

However, with great viewership comes great responsibility and the unfortunate knowledge that a commercial is not just a commercial. In 2024, everything is political. Yes, even commercials. Think I'm wrong? Reflect on Bud Lite's partnership with Dylan Mulvaney. I have my opinions - I think Dylan Mulvaney is awesome and everyone got their knickers in a twist - but I'm not Bud Lite's target audience.

That said, consumers are increasingly demanding more sustainability, inclusion, and representation from the brands they love. Many back it up with their purchases. Couple that with the fact that every commercial will be interpreted through the lens of our current political climate, and, yeah, nothing is just a commercial. Which brings us to the aforementioned conundrum.

If you're a marketer or advertiser creating a Superbowl commercial tonight, who will you target with your expensive airtime?

Let's say you're a low-quality beer. Your target audience is the football regulars. The people that drink you every Sunday throughout the football season. Right?

Or do you take this 7 million + opportunity to try and appeal to a new audience? Maybe by showing off your seltzer product to appeal to a younger market?

Is that worth the risk of alienating your core buyer persona?

Furthermore, do you showcase your commitment to sustainability by mentioning that all of your seltzers are packaged in recyclable plastic? Or are you afraid that's going to alienate older men who keep five six-packs of your beer lying around at all times and couldn't care less about climate change(if they even think it's real?)

See, football is generally an easy time to run advertisements. Throughout the season you have a set target audience. Particularly, you know what region you're serving based on where your ad runs. Maybe across the country, maybe just on the Eastern Seaboard, maybe even just to the Greater Philadelphia region, for example.

Tonight, however, the whole world - as an overgeneralization - is watching. So, you have a choice to make: appeal to a new market in the hopes of expanding your reach or stick to what's safe.

And you know what, maybe I'm overthinking this whole thing. However, with over 100 million people watching, I'd say brands have a lot to gain tonight if they play their cards right - and potentially a lot to lose.

This brings us to the questions I really want to hear your thoughts on:

How do we expand our target audience without alienating our loyal base? How do we appeal to more people without losing our brand ethos? How do we capitalize on those rare, 7 million dollars opportunities?

It's a fine line to walk, and nowhere is it more on display than at an event like the Superbowl.

Since this goes live tomorrow, let me know what your favorite commercial is once you read this! And I'll let you know mine in the comments. As usual, don't hesitate to contact me for a chat about all things copywriting, marketing, and freelancing!