Super Bowl advertising receives considerable media attention each
year, in part, because of the large TV audience the event attracts.
Since 2000, advertisers have spent an average of over $2 million to run
30-second advertisements in these games. The question is often asked:
“Are these ads worth it?” This study examines Super Bowl
advertising effectiveness from the Hollywood movie industry's
perspective. Results indicate that the average Super Bowl promoted film
achieved twice as much first weekend, first week, and total U.S. box
office revenue than its average non-Super Bowl promoted movie
counterpart for the years 1998–2001. When all movies with
production budgets of $35 million or more and U.S. release dates within
7 months of the 1998–2001 Super Bowls were considered, Super Bowl
promoted movies grossed nearly 40 percent more than non-Super Bowl
promoted movies. Conclusions are drawn and future research directions
are outlined.