The numbers are clear: the United States is the most important advertising market worldwide. And television is the second most profitable promotion medium thanks to a total TV ad spend of USD 67 billion in 2022. It is only surpassed by the internet.
Looking back in time
The very first TV ad in the US was aired on 1 July 1941 in New York before the Brooklyn Dodgers vs. Philadelphia Phillies baseball game on WNBT (now WNBC), promoting Bulova’s watch.
Video: Bulova (1941)
But it was not just the first TV ad in the US - it was the first worldwide. This achievement in the list of first places for the United States was a special one. The ad, which cost the company between USD 4 and USD 9, may seem a bit ridiculous today but it was a truly historic milestone because it ushered in a new era - the age of TV commerce.
Over time, the commercial breaks have steadily got longer and today, American viewers see about 3 hours of ads in 10 hours. That is even twice as many as in the 1960s. This has interesting implications - in the case of a rerun of a 1960s film, it may be edited by up to 9 minutes to make enough room for advertising.
If we compare it to our environment, we are much better off. Czech law allows 12 minutes of advertising per hour, which means that during 10 hours of broadcasting, Czech viewers will see a maximum of 2 hours of advertising. The Czech complainers (who are plentiful) permanently grumbling about the number of ads should move to the USA for a while. Back home they might jump for joy at the mere 120 minutes of ad spots.
And yet it was not so long ago - some three decades - when the first foreign ads began to penetrate our market after the Velvet Revolution and we were not able to tear ourselves away from them. Who of you can remember the catchy jingle of the Coca-Cola ad?
Video: Coca Cola
Riding a wave of humour
The US Consumer Trends Report shows that 57% of respondents prefer brands and spots that make them laugh and are entertaining, according to a December 2021 survey of working-age US consumers. In the oldest age group, it is even 66%. These are followed by motivational (47%), educational (34.5%), thought-provoking (34%), reassuring (34%), and inclusive (18%) ads.
Elements of humour work (and not just in the US). It is evidenced by the fact that the “Relax, it’s iPhone - R.I.P. Leon“ ad for iPhone 14 (Apple, Cupertino, USA) won the Grand Prix at this year’s Cannes Lions 2023 International Festival of Creativity.
Video: Apple - Relax, it's iPhone – R.I.P. Leon
Celebrities? Yes, please!
Another strategy that still works well for American audiences is using celebrities. No wonder. Who would not want to look as sexy as Kate Moss in Calvin Klein jeans? Stars are still in as we could see in this year’s Super Bowl with a number of celebrities appearing in costly spots. For example, viewers could see the US favourite country singer, songwriter, and film actor Willie Nelson in a campaign for BIC EZ Reach universal lighter. American actress Melissa McCarthy, who rose to fame with the Gilmore Girls series, appeared in a Booking.com promotion. Singer Nick Jonas and actor Miles Tellea were among the other celebrities starring in the Super Bowl ads.
It is true. The media industry needs celebrities. But the reverse is also true. There are many star actors today who broke through thanks to advertisements. For example, John Travolta, Grease’s star and a bad guy in a number of action movies, sang in the shower, extolling his hair shampoo sky-high in the 1970s.
Video: John Travolta and TV ad
Before swimming in the ocean after the crash of Titanic, Leonardo DiCaprio starred in a chewing gum ad. He was 14 years old at the time.
Video: Leonardo DiCaprio - ad for Bubble Yum chewing gum
Let alone the famous saviour of the world from Armageddon! In the days before his undying fame, Bruce Willis sang a catchy song about chilling wine with his friends on the porch.
Video: Bruce Willis in an ad
Super Bowl: a gold mine of TV advertising
The NFL finals, or the Super Bowl, is traditionally the event of the year in the USA, so it is no surprise that it attracts both viewers and advertising agencies. Between 80 and 90 ads are aired during the Super Bowl each year. According to Sporting News, 30-second spots during this year’s Super Bowl sold for more than USD 7 million apiece. Just for comparison, it was USD 6.5 million in 2022. Historical TV ad pricing for the Super Bowl was quite different. In 1967, the cost was from USD 37,500 to USD 42,500 per spot. It was not until 1995 that the price exceeded a million.
One of the catchiest ads at this year’s Super Bowl was definitely the Farmer’s Dog “Forever” campaign. The brand did not rely on celebrities or special effects. The spot is based on a story of a woman who vows to love her dog forever. It starts when she is a little girl and the dog is a puppy, and ends when she has a child of her own and her faithful four-legged friend is still with her, just with a little gray in his coat. The buzz this media work has provoked proves that a strong story and a cute puppy at Super Bowl time trumps most other publicity stunts.
Video: Farmer’s Dog - Forever
Entertainment and inspiration – Super Bowl ads still work today
With the National Football League finals bringing tens of millions of viewers to their seats each year, companies are racing to be creative, spending millions of dollars to build awareness and get their brand in front of potential consumers. Usually, they bet on emotion, entertainment, and movie stars - and this year’s ads were brimming with celebrities. Other successful works from this year’s Super Bowl include the Pop Corners: Breaking Good ad inspired by the TV series Breaking Bad.
Video: Pop Corners: Breaking Good
In the past, the ads were often made in a humorous vein. Among the top 10, two ads managed to stand out from the crowd. One with an unconventional concept, the other with a joke:
No story, no touching animals, no movie stars. Nothing. Just a colourful QR code bouncing on the screen, which, when scanned, took viewers to Coinbase’s website offering a limited-time promotion. Yet (or maybe because of that) this ad was so popular that it crashed the company’s app. Obviously, originality is appreciated.
Video: Coinbase (Super Bowl 2022)
In the spot below, Amazon pokes fun at its virtual assistant Alexa. Gordon Ramsey, Anthony Hopkins, and rapper Cardi B have all made very funny attempts to replace the virtual assistant that has lost her voice. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, also stars in the ad.
Video: Amazon – „Alexa loses her voice“ (Super Bowl 2018):
Super Bowl ads inspire creators around the world and often set new trends in the advertising industry. When you consider the sums invested in their creative design, production, and broadcast by world-renowned brands and media agencies, it is hardly surprising. Let’s get inspired too!
The Oscars as another major advertising event
In addition to the Super Bowl, the Oscars are among the events with the greatest significance for advertising. This event generated USD 139 million in advertising revenue in 2022 with ABC being the largest TV advertiser of that evening.
Among the top ads this year, EDO’s measurements ranked a spot promoting the animated film The Little Mermaid (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures) as No. 1, followed by a Lucid Air car ad (Lucid Motors Inc.) and a spot promoting Autodesk software and web services (Autodesk Construction Cloud).
Homer Simpson as a successful influencer
Did you know that even America’s most famous family regularly enriches TV advertising? The Simpsons’ first achievements as stars in the advertising industry began in 1988. Homer, Bart, and Lisa have promoted many brands since then, such as Butterfinger, Burger King, C.C.’s Chips, C.C. Lemon, KFC, Church’s Chicken, Intel, Ramada, and more.
Video: The Simpsons ads
And that is not the only connection between the yellow family and promotion on TV. It seems that this original American TV sitcom is still in. A survey of media buying agencies showed that a 30-second ad spot during the Simpsons 2020/21 broadcast season cost approximately USD 126,000.
Interesting facts from the usa in figures
Finally, take a look at a few numbers not mentioned in the article:
- TV advertising accounts for approximately one-fifth of total advertising revenue in the US.
- In terms of the sectors that have invested the largest sums in TV advertising, media and publishing take the top spot, closely followed by healthcare and finance.
- In 2022, Google Pixel, Walmart, Amazon, and GEICO paid the most for TV advertising in the US.
And where do we go next?
In the next article from our summer trip around the world in search of TV ads, we will go to the UK, the country of Rowan Atkinson who made audiences around the world laugh not only with his films but also with his role in the Snickers ad. A country that has become famous for the TV Pick Up phenomenon, where people take advantage of a commercial break to make a cup of coffee, dramatically increasing energy consumption. And did you know that according to the BBC, one of the biggest blackouts took place on 4 July 1990 as England and Germany prepared to shoot penalties in the FIFA World Cup semi-final? Get ready. We are about to go!
