Humor Is Only Option for Recent Super Bowl Advertisers

Many Super Bowl advertisers craft purposely funny ads to capture attention and be memorable — and iSpot data reveals that it is indeed a successful tactic: Brand recognition (the percent of survey respondents that accurately identified a brand unaided after watching an ad) is higher for Super Bowl ads that employ humor than those that don’t. 

But brands should also consider the type of humor they use, as not all types of jokes will resonate with all audiences — and in some cases, may turn some viewers off. The use of polarizing humor in Super Bowl ads has decreased since 2019, with more brands opting to play it safe with their jokes to avoid alienating audiences.

• 70% of Super Bowl LVIII ads were considered “funny” by surveyed viewers, a slight decrease from the 72% of Super Bowl LVII ads, but notably higher than the 60% of Super Bowl LVI.
• The average brand recognition for funny Super Bowl LVIII ads was 80%, notably higher than the 68% recognition with not funny ads. 
• 72% of funny Super Bowl LVIII ads used what viewers considered “safe” humor, while 19% had “edgy” (middle ground) humor and only 9% were polarizing. 
• Doritos’ “Dina and Mita” was the No. 1 funny ad from Super Bowl LVIII, and it was 13% more likeable than the norm.

Check out more Super Bowl insights from iSpot and other Measure partners in our special Super Bowl hub.