The Super Bowl is several things: the culmination of another NFL season and a rare singular moment where most Americans watch “broadcast” television together. Oh, and we eat a lot of snacks. In 2024, the National Retail Federation estimated that we spent $17.3 billion on food and décor for the “Big Game.” That’s $86 per person, if you love that sort of math. All of this creates moments in culture that transcend the medium and echo throughout the rest of the year.

But why?

There isn’t one answer, but for marketers there is a vibe. One of the things that the Super Bowl does for this industry is light the path forward for what is to come each year. In 2019, consumers started flooding into TikTok, and by the time we got to that Super Bowl, most of us understood something new was happening. The game featured a 30-second ad from TikTok showcasing creators (like Charli D’Amelio) and celebrities demonstrating what made the app special. In that same game, we got a cross-over promotion from Justin Bieber and Chipotle featuring his song “Yummy” and appearances from David Dobrik, Zach King, Greg Auerbach, and Brittany Broski. This was a turning point for what TikTok would become and how brands would come to understand the power of the “interest graph.”

The other element of the Super Bowl is that nearly every ad is devoid of anything that resembles a conversion. Instead, these ads are longer than they would be any other time of the year and focused on storytelling. In some cases, they push what we narrowly define as a story to see what the reaction will be. In 2025, Coors Light started their Super Bowl campaign by creating several print and out-of-home advertisements with the word “refreshment” spelled incorrectly—one of these placements was in Times Square. Predictably, there was an outcry of “there is no attention to detail,” “this would not have happened on my watch,” or our favorite “this generation…” All of this missed the larger point that Coors was telling an interesting story based on workforce data showing 17 million Americans called in sick the day after the Super Bowl. Soon after the maddening crowd had reached a fevered pitch, they launched the second phase which “apologized,” blaming the error on a “case of the Mondays” and then launched a limited-time offering of Coors Light renamed “Case of the Mondays.” This stunting is a telltale sign that we are in Super Bowl season but is also illuminating to what connects with the modern consumer.

The Super Bowl has evolved far beyond a championship football game into a cultural touchstone that provides marketers with an annual showcase for innovation and experimentation. From TikTok’s emergence to Coors Light’s deliberate misspelling campaign, these advertisements serve as both a reflection of current consumer behavior and a preview of future marketing trends. By studying these high-stakes marketing moments, professionals can better understand how to blend traditional and digital strategies, create engaging narratives, and connect with modern audiences. The Super Bowl isn’t just the biggest game of the year—it’s become an essential laboratory for the future of advertising and consumer engagement.