Rapper Kendrick Lamar, the most popular hip-hop artist of the moment due to his bitter rivalry with Drake, will headline Super Bowl LIX with his halftime show, in a game for which Fox is selling its advertising slots at $8 million for 30 seconds.
In its sporting aspect, the Super Bowl will pit the Kansas City Chiefs against the Philadelphia Eagles on February 9 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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But the impact of the Super Bowl, which is the most important sporting event in the United States and one of the largest in the world, lies mainly in its cultural and economic relevance.
There is an escalation in prices and interest in the demand for live sports, but we have not reached its peak. We still have room for growth
Mark Evans, vicepresidente ejecutivo de ventas publicitarias de Fox Sports
The halftime show has become a huge platform for the guest artists and the anticipation it generates is almost on a par with the game itself.
Little is known eight days before the Super Bowl about what Kendrick Lamar has in store, although everyone expects the centerpiece to be ‘Not Like Us’, a song-turned-anthem that takes aim at his former friend Drake.
It was possibly the success of ‘Not Like Us’ – with more than 1 billion streams on Spotify – that made Jay-Z, through his company Roc Nation, which produces the show, choose the Los Angeles rapper to take over from Usher in the last edition or Rihanna two years ago.
Drake lawsuit
Drake filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group – the label of both artists – for endangering his life and reputation by releasing and promoting the song, which he claims is defamatory. But that is unlikely to stop Lamar from taking it to the halftime show.
“The rivalry with Drake has made him bigger; there’s no one who can sit here and argue that,” producer Antwan ‘Amadeus’ Thompson Sr. told Forbes. “But (the Super Bowl) is going to catapult his career to another level,” he added.
The halftime show lasts between 12 and 14 minutes and Lamar is expected to perform songs from his new album GMX such as ‘squabble up’ and ‘tv off’ or classics such as ‘HUMBLE’ or ‘DNA’.
In addition, singer SZA will also perform in the halftime show as Lamar’s guest, with whom she shares songs such as ‘Luther’, ‘Gloria’ and ’30 for 30′.
Some rumors – probably unfounded – suggest that Taylor Swift could be the surprise second guest of the Los Angeles rapper, as she will be in the stadium cheering on her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, of the Chiefs, and shares the song ‘Bad Blood’ with Lamar.
Highly sought after ads
With the proliferation of streaming platforms, there are fewer and fewer products that bring so many viewers to the screen as the Super Bowl: 123.7 million last year, or 115 million the year before. That’s why its advertising slots are among the most sought after on the market.
Fox, in charge of the broadcast, announced in November that it had already sold all these spaces, but some advertisers pulled out at the last minute, such as insurer State Farm, which was impacted by the fires in California.
This has allowed Fox to place the last 30-second spots just days before the game at a record figure of $8 million among its waiting list customers.
“We’re at a point where a live sporting event, where people and families come together to watch it, is much more coveted. There is an escalation in prices and interest in the demand for live sports, but we have not reached its peak. We still have room for growth,” said Mark Evans, executive vice president of advertising sales for Fox Sports.
Meteor shower
Brands like Doritos, Pringles, Uber Eats, Google, Meta and Reese’s will compete for viewers’ attention with equally lavish productions.
Hellmann’s mayonnaise has reunited Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal to recreate the iconic scene from the 1989 film ‘When Harry Met Sally’ in New York’s Katz’s Deli in a commercial that also features Sydney Sweeney.
Bud Light has enlisted the help of Post Malone, comedian Shane Gillis and retired quarterback Peyton Manning for its ad, which recreates a barbecue in a typical American suburb.
Doja Cat will appear in the Taco Bell ad, Antonio Banderas in a Bosch ad, David Beckham in the Stella Artois ad and Chris Hemsworth and Chris Pratt in the Meta ad.Charli XCX and Martha Stewart share an Uber Eats commercial, which will air another with Matthew McConaughey, while Michelob Ultra brings together actors Willem Dafoe and Catherine O’Hara in a comical ad in which they compete at pickleball with WNBA player Sabrina Ionescu and former receiver Randy Moss.