Traditionally the most expensive ad spots of the year, with some brands shelling out around $7m for 30 seconds of ad time, there’s no question that the Superbowl pulls in advertisers seeking to capitalise on the vast reach of the event (some 120m viewers). But with this great reach and these high-cost stakes come great responsibility, and brands need to deliver effective creative to cut through the clutter. So… now that the results are in, how did brands do this year?

System 1 conducted research on creatives from this year’s Superbowl and ranked ads according to their long-term brand building potential from a panel of 10,500 national representative American consumers. The ad is then assigned a star rating from 1 – 5.9 stars. Usually only 1% of ads secure a five-star . In 2024, only one brand in achieved a five-star score. This means we can cut through the buzz (and budgets) to marry up the effectiveness and long term impact of these much talked about ad spots.

T-Mobile scores a win

A third of Super Bowl ads this year scored one star, meaning they failed to drive positive brand building emotions. However, one stand-out ad was T-Mobile ‘That T-Mobile Home Internet Feeling’, with a strong star Rating of 4.5, an exceptional brand fluency rating and high short-term sales potential. T-Mobile has opted for consistency year on year, using Zach and Donald as key characters to show how easy T-Mobile’s wi-fi is. This year used a famous face, Jason Momoa, humour and music to deliver an entertaining experience for the consumer. 61% of Super Bowl ads in the last five years have used celebrities, but effectiveness is not guaranteed - audiences need continuity from year to year. It’s even better if there’s brand linkage to build a story over time.  

Pfizer breaks away from the category pack

A second high performer was Pfizer with ‘Here’s to Science’, delivering cut-through in what has historically been quite a dry category for creative execution. The ad scored 3.8, securing it a position in the top 11. However, what is perhaps more impressive is how this ad breaks Pfizer away from the category pack (which on average scores 2.2 in these tests). Pfizer ignored historical tropes; instead utilising iconic cultural references, an even more iconic (and unlikely) soundtrack, and ending with an emotive message of hope. Altogether, a winning combination that led to 81% of viewers to correctly recognise the brand.

Using the System1 star rating system as a predictor of market share growth

When the System1 star rating is combined with Extra Share Of Voice (ESOV), it is a much more accurate predictor of market share growth than ESOV alone – meaning that these winning brands will likely go on to see further long-term wins. And while most marketing campaigns don’t reflect such dramatic budgets over such short periods of time, there is a great deal that can be learnt here. Creative effectiveness is vital in generating a strong campaign ROI, and by adopting an integrated approach that measures both creative and media performance, we can begin to understand the true impact of our campaigns. By combining the media and creative response to briefs, we can align targeting and audience insight. This will deliver greater effectiveness and shared learnings, that realise client business objectives.