Super Bowl ads are known for their value tag. At $7 cardinal for a 30-second spot, each 2nd costs astir $233K. But is it really worthy it?
Some opportunity the vulnerability is priceless, but pinch a cost-per-mille (CPM) of astir $71, it’s astir 10 times much costly than digital alternatives.
So, really do brands make judge they get the champion return connected finance (ROI) aft the last whistle? It comes down to the integer follow-up - moving the aforesaid aliases akin creatives connected societal and integer show platforms to guarantee the run gets seen.
Whether you're aiming for a slow pain aliases a speedy burst of attention, the cardinal is having a clear integer strategy that complements your Super Bowl investment. With AdClarity, you tin way which attack is much effective for your competitors—and usage that penetration to style your ain campaigns.
We took a speedy look astatine immoderate of past year’s Super Bowl advertisers to spot what they spent connected societal media, Google display, and online video ads to support their large TV spot.
The Importance of Digital Channels Post-Super Bowl
After the excitement of the large crippled subsides, the existent activity begins. That’s wherever integer follow-up comes in—allowing brands to leverage the momentum generated by their high-profile spot.
This momentum tin retarget viewers, grow scope to different assemblage segments, and support their connection top-of-mind successful a competitory landscape.
For marketers, there’s a existent fearfulness that a single, high-profile advertisement mightiness not thrust the semipermanent engagement aliases conversions they’re after.
A Super Bowl advertisement reaches millions, but without sustained support, the buzz fades fast. The extremity is to widen its effect beyond crippled time done an integrated integer strategy—engaging audiences, driving traffic, and converting leads connected societal media, show ads, and search.
2024 Super Bowl Campaign Case Studies
Using AdClarity’s insights, we examined really immoderate apical brands leveraged their Super Bowl spots to thrust impactful integer campaigns.
CeraVe: The Michael Cera Campaign
First, we dove into CeraVe’s “Developed pinch Dermatologists, Not Michael Cera” campaign.
According to AdClarity data, the institution spent an estimated $339.3K connected this run successful Q1 of 2024, pinch astir of the spending happening connected February 12 (the time aft the game).

In the inclination floor plan above, we tin spot the campaign’s integer push lasted astir a month.
Below, let’s return a speedy look astatine the apical ads they ran connected societal media and YouTube.

Notice that the creatives each characteristic astir the aforesaid communicative and design, pinch Michael Cera arsenic the star. And the numbers nether each advertisement correspond the full spend, impressions, and magnitude of the video.
We tin besides spot the apical publishers of this integer travel up. For a skincare marque whose assemblage mightiness not usually beryllium big-time sports fans, it's funny to spot the apical patient was really ESPN.com.

This shows that possibly the marque treated this Super Bowl advertisement arsenic a chance to reach a caller assemblage segment of sports fans.
Now, support successful mind that the 3 screenshots supra are conscionable showing information connected the Michael Cera campaign. If we look astatine CeraVe.com’s full advertizing walk and placements for the aforesaid clip period, we tin spot a large difference.

First of all, we tin spot their full integer walk was complete $5 million, meaning the Michael Cera run was only astir 6% of this brand’s integer walk successful the first 4th of 2024. Also, they kept spending consistently passim the quarter, while the Michael Cera run was astir conscionable 1 month.
Looking astatine their apical ads from this clip period, we tin spot the creatives each characteristic women utilizing the product.

However, if we look astatine the afloat database of campaigns, it looks for illustration the Michael Cera run really had the champion costs per mille (CPM), astatine $5.21 compared to astir of their campaigns being successful the $8 CPM range.

It looks like, successful the lawsuit of this brand, they utilized the Super Bowl to scope a caller assemblage conception pinch a funny idea.
And it turns retired it whitethorn person been a much cost-effective integer run than their emblematic evergreen campaigns.
Moving connected from a nerdy personage to a Nerds candy, let’s spot really different marque supported their Super Bowl advertisement connected digital.
Nerds Candy: Unleash Your Sense
Nerds person been astir since the 80s, but the 2020 merchandise of their “Gummy Clusters” merchandise took the marque to caller heights.
Of course, this hype merchandise was the prima of their first-ever Super Bowl ad.
According to AdClarity, the candy marque spent an estimated $1.1M connected integer support successful Q1 2024.

Note: Check really overmuch of an advertiser’s buying method is programmatic vs nonstop pinch the Ad buying methods widget.
Interestingly, they had their biggest online spending time connected February 5, precisely 1 week earlier the game.
Their integer advertisement imaginative mostly featured TikTok prima Addison Rae and the dancing personified gummy cluster from the TV spot.

While CeraVe arsenic a marque had a ton of integer campaigns running, AdClarity saw conscionable 2 for Nerds, pinch the mostly being this Super Bowl campaign. Both campaigns had a CPM of astir $9.

Looking astatine the afloat database of publishers, we tin spot again respective sports-related sites successful summation to YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.

So, this marque whitethorn person taken the aforesaid attack to integer support for Super Bowl ads by targeting sports-themed sites to scope those Super Bowl fans again pinch their ad.
How Much of the Annual Budget is for the Super Bowl?
One past quality we saw betwixt the 2 advertisers was really they spent passim the year.
When we looked astatine the 12 period overview, we saw that Nerds spent astir of their yearly fund astir the clip of the Super Bowl.
Nerds Candy Annual Digital Ad Spend Trend

And astir of it was connected video ads, pinch societal media ads pursuing soon after.
But, looking astatine CeraVe, we saw a much accordant spending inclination passim 2024. Once 2025 hit, the brand’s integer advertisement spending really started to ramp up (especially connected video, arsenic we tin spot pinch the greenish line).

Again, this conscionable goes to show 2 unsocial approaches to handling integer support for a Super Bowl ad.
- Nerds spent astir of their fund one week before the game
- CeraVe spent astir of its fund the time after the game
- CeraVe had a overmuch larger yearly budget, and dedicated conscionable 6% of it to support their Super Bowl advertisement campaign
- Almost each of Nerds’ fund seemed to beryllium supporting this aforesaid campaign
Takeaways from Different Spending Strategies
Which run was much successful?
While we can't definitively opportunity which run was much successful, we tin tie cardinal lessons from their strategies:
CeraVe took a methodical, dependable approach. They utilized their Super Bowl advertisement arsenic an introduction constituent into a broader, semipermanent run that targeted a caller assemblage connected sports platforms for illustration ESPN.
This attack suggests that, for brands pinch much evergreen products aliases services, sustaining momentum aft the crippled whitethorn beryllium much important than going each successful upfront.
Nerds went for a much concentrated push. They spent the bulk of their fund starring up to the game, utilizing the Super Bowl arsenic a awesome infinitesimal to thrust consciousness for a newer product.
If your extremity is to capitalize connected buzz and excitement successful a short timeframe, Nerds' strategy shows really focusing advertisement walk earlier and astir the large arena tin present impact.
The takeaway? Different businesses request different strategies, and some approaches tin activity depending connected your goals.
Wondering really advertisers will travel up their Super Bowl ads this year? Take a free proceedings of AdClarity today.