How AI Is Transforming Advertising During the Big Game
February 7, 2025
How AI Is Transforming Advertising During the Big Game
How AI Is Transforming Advertising During the Big Game
By: Dominik Weber, Senior Manager, Creative Insights at Nexxen Studio
The Big Game is about more than just football — it’s the pinnacle event for advertisers. Each year, brands invest millions in 30-second ad spots, enlisting celebrities and using humor to create memorable moments. But what truly drives success for these ads? Is it the celebrity cameo, the emotional narrative or something else entirely?
Nexxen Studio uses cutting-edge AI content recognition technology as well as unique emotional measurement tools to uncover answers. By analysing thousands of ads across millions of data points, we can unlock what makes them resonate with audiences — and how advertisers can use these findings to their advantage.
Decoding Ad Performance with AI
Our AI-powered video content recognition solution identifies every element within a video — celebrities, people, animals, objects and even actions — providing a detailed blueprint of an ad’s content. By pairing this with facial coding technology (which measures real-time emotional reactions and attention levels), we’re able to gain unparalleled insight into how audiences respond to different elements of an ad.
Let’s take Chris Pratt’s moustache-clad appearance in Pringles’ 2024 ad as an example. Our AI tools identified Chris Pratt’s presence and pinpointed exactly when he appeared on screen. Simultaneously, emotional analysis revealed spikes in viewer attention during his scenes. This data, combined with performance metrics, showed that the ad outperformed the average Big Game spot, with Chris Pratt playing a vital role in that win.
But Pringles’ success isn’t an isolated case. We found that ads featuring celebrities generated 9% higher viewer engagement than the average on football’s biggest night. However, this insight comes with a caveat: while celebrities enhance ads during the game, they don’t necessarily have the same effect in other contexts.
- For holiday ads, as an example, featuring fireplaces, snow, Christmas trees or animated characters boosts performance, while celebrities have little impact. And any fitness-related content tends to negatively affect engagement in this context.
- During the Big Game, however, celebrities, sports-related activities and dogs consistently enhance performance. Wild animals, on the other hand, are less successful in driving positive viewer engagement. (It’s unclear into which category the unforgettable Puppy Monkey Baby falls.)
The Role of AI in Shaping the Future of Advertising
While AI-generated ads have advanced significantly, the creative talent of human storytellers remains irreplaceable. What AI excels at, however, is delivering the insights needed to inform and refine creative strategies.
AI can identify which celebrity resonates with a specific demographic as well as the types of objects or themes that evoke the strongest emotional response and enable hyper-targeted personalization. These insights empower advertisers to optimize their campaigns and gain a competitive edge.
At Nexxen, we believe the future of advertising lies in the connection between and combination of human creativity and AI-driven insights. AI sharpens strategies, while human ingenuity brings stories to life, ensuring brands connect with audiences in the most meaningful way.
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