CPG Companies Compete for Relevance During the Big Game

Key Takeaways:

• US ad spend across the CPG category fell in Jan’24, down 25% MoM, highlighting the post-holiday lull that impacts the larger subset of advertisers

  • In the 4 weeks leading up to Super Bowl LVIII (1/14/24-2/10/24), CPG companies that ran Super Bowl commercials increased their US ad spend by 30% WoW on average, vs 6% WoW for non-Super Bowl commercial CPG brands

• CPG advertisers that run Super Bowl ads typically increase their US ad spend in the weeks leading up to the big game vs the broader CPG category. They also allocate a higher portion of their budget to video-led social media platforms, primarily YouTube and TikTok, up 9ppts and 6ppts vs the broader category, which suggests that these companies are redistributing their Super Bowl commercials across multiple platforms to increase viewership

• In 2024, there were five debut CPG Super Bowl advertisers that included CeraVe, Lindt, Nerds, poppi, and Starry. These debut advertisers saw the largest spike in Google search trends during the week of the Super Bowl. US digital ad spend across the group was up 160% compared to its average spend throughout the rest of 2024, which suggests that these brands are also investing in driving awareness through multiple touch points outside of their singular Super Bowl commercial 

• ST data shows that returning Super Bowl advertisers within the CPG industry spent 30% more on US digital ad spend throughout 2024 than debut advertisers. Despite returning advertisers’ increased US ad spend throughout the year, in the four weeks leading up to Super Bowl in 2024, they spent 40% less than their debut advertising counterparts, which suggests that these repeat advertisers could further leverage the opportunity afforded by their Super Bowl investment 

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