IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/ormksc/v37y2018i1p78-96.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Super Bowl Ads

Author

Listed:
  • Wesley R. Hartmann

    (Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305)

  • Daniel Klapper

    (School of Business and Economics, Humboldt University Berlin, 10099 Berlin, Germany)

Abstract

We explore the effects of television advertising in the setting of the National Football League’s Super Bowl telecast. The Super Bowl is well suited for evaluating advertising because viewers pay attention to the ads, more than 40% of households watch the game, and variation in ad exposures is exogenous because a brand cannot choose how many impressions it receives in each market. Viewership is primarily determined based on local preferences for watching the two competing teams. We combine Super Bowl ratings data with weekly sales data in the beer and soda categories to document three primary findings about advertising. First, the relationship between Super Bowl viewership and sales in the week leading up to the game reveals the brands customers buy to consume during the game. We find some brands are consumed while watching the game while others are not, but this is unrelated to whether a brand ever advertised during the Super Bowl or advertises in a specific year. This rejects the theory that advertising works by serving as a complement to brand consumption. Second, we find that post–Super Bowl sales effects of ad viewership are concentrated in weeks with subsequent sporting events. This suggests Super Bowl advertising builds a complementarity between the brand and sports viewership more broadly. Finally, we collect data on National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament viewership to test this theory and find that the complementarity between a brand’s sales and viewership of the tournament is enhanced by Super Bowl ad viewership. Together, these findings identify advertising as a determinant of why some brands outperform others for particular consumption occasions such as sports viewership.

Suggested Citation

  • Wesley R. Hartmann & Daniel Klapper, 2018. "Super Bowl Ads," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 37(1), pages 78-96, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormksc:v:37:y:2018:i:1:p:78-96
    DOI: 10.1287/mksc.2017.1055
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.2017.1055
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/mksc.2017.1055?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gary S. Becker & Kevin M. Murphy, 1993. "A Simple Theory of Advertising as a Good or Bad," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 108(4), pages 941-964.
    2. Toker Doganoglu & Daniel Klapper, 2006. "Goodwill and dynamic advertising strategies," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 5-29, March.
    3. Navdeep S. Sahni, 2015. "Effect of temporal spacing between advertising exposures: Evidence from online field experiments," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 203-247, September.
    4. Ulrich Doraszelski & Sarit Markovich, 2007. "Advertising dynamics and competitive advantage," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 38(3), pages 557-592, September.
    5. Seth Stephens-Davidowitz & Hal Varian & Michael D. Smith, 2017. "Super returns to Super Bowl ads?," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 1-28, March.
    6. Marianne Bertrand & Dean Karlan & Sendhil Mullainathan & Eldar Shafir & Jonathan Zinman, 2010. "What's Advertising Content Worth? Evidence from a Consumer Credit Marketing Field Experiment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 125(1), pages 263-306.
    7. Navdeep S. Sahni, 2015. "Erratum to: Effect of temporal spacing between advertising exposures: Evidence from online field experiments," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 249-250, September.
    8. Jean‐Pierre Dubé & Günter J. Hitsch & Peter E. Rossi, 2010. "State dependence and alternative explanations for consumer inertia," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 41(3), pages 417-445, September.
    9. Bart J. Bronnenberg & Michael W. Kruger & Carl F. Mela, 2008. "—The IRI Marketing Data Set," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(4), pages 745-748, 07-08.
    10. Navdeep Sahni, 2015. "Effect of temporal spacing between advertising exposures: Evidence from online field experiments," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 203-247, September.
    11. Bart J. Bronnenberg & Sanjay K. Dhar & Jean-Pierre H. Dubé, 2009. "Brand History, Geography, and the Persistence of Brand Shares," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 117(1), pages 87-115, February.
    12. Navdeep Sahni, 2015. "Erratum to: Effect of temporal spacing between advertising exposures: Evidence from online field experiments," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 13(3), pages 249-250, September.
    13. Sha Yang & Gerg M. Allenby & Geraldine Fennel, 2002. "Modeling Variation in Brand Preference: The Roles of Objective Environment and Motivating Conditions," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(1), pages 14-31, May.
    14. Jean-Pierre Dubé & Günter Hitsch & Puneet Manchanda, 2005. "An Empirical Model of Advertising Dynamics," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 107-144, June.
    15. Ackerberg, Daniel A, 2001. "Empirically Distinguishing Informative and Prestige Effects of Advertising," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 32(2), pages 316-333, Summer.
    16. Bagwell, Kyle, 2007. "The Economic Analysis of Advertising," Handbook of Industrial Organization, in: Mark Armstrong & Robert Porter (ed.), Handbook of Industrial Organization, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 28, pages 1701-1844, Elsevier.
    17. Randall A. Lewis & Justin M. Rao, 2015. "The Unfavorable Economics of Measuring the Returns to Advertising," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 130(4), pages 1941-1973.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bradley T. Shapiro, 2020. "Advertising in Health Insurance Markets," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 39(3), pages 587-611, May.
    2. Christina C. Bartenschlager & Jens O. Brunner, 2019. "Reaching for the stars: attention to multiple testing problems and method recommendations using simulation for business research," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 89(4), pages 447-479, June.
    3. Mitchell J. Lovett & Renana Peres & Linli Xu, 2019. "Can your advertising really buy earned impressions? The effect of brand advertising on word of mouth," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 215-255, September.
    4. Ambarish Chandra & Matthew Weinberg, 2018. "How Does Advertising Depend on Competition? Evidence from U.S. Brewing," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(11), pages 5132-5148, November.
    5. Rex Yuxing Du & Mingyu Joo & Kenneth C. Wilbur, 2019. "Advertising and brand attitudes: Evidence from 575 brands over five years," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 257-323, September.
    6. Samuel Nocito & Marcello Sartarelli & Francesco Sobbrio, 2021. "A Beam of Light: Media, Tourism & Economic Development," CESifo Working Paper Series 9055, CESifo.
    7. Robert W. Palmatier & Andrew T. Crecelius, 2019. "The “first principles” of marketing strategy," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 9(1), pages 5-26, June.
    8. Samuel Nocito & Marcello Sartarelli & Francesco Sobbrio, 2022. "A Beam of Light: Media, Tourism and Economic Development," Working Papers 2/22, Sapienza University of Rome, DISS.
    9. Rex Yuxing Du & Mingyu Joo & Kenneth C. Wilbur, 2018. "Advertising and Brand Attitudes: Evidence from 575 Brands over Five Years," Papers 1810.07783, arXiv.org.
    10. Sarah Moshary & Bradley T. Shapiro & Jihong Song, 2020. "How and When to Use the Political Cycle to Identify Advertising Effects," NBER Working Papers 27349, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Sarah Moshary & Bradley T. Shapiro & Jihong Song, 2021. "How and When to Use the Political Cycle to Identify Advertising Effects," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 40(2), pages 283-304, March.
    12. Michael Thomas, 2020. "Spillovers from Mass Advertising: An Identification Strategy," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 39(4), pages 807-826, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Stephan Seiler & Song Yao & Wenbo Wang, 2017. "Does Online Word of Mouth Increase Demand? (And How?) Evidence from a Natural Experiment," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 36(6), pages 838-861, November.
    2. Bart J. Bronnenberg & Jean-Pierre Dubé & Robert E. Sanders, 2020. "Consumer Misinformation and the Brand Premium: A Private Label Blind Taste Test," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 39(2), pages 382-406, March.
    3. Simon P. Anderson & Federico Ciliberto & Jura Liaukonyte & Régis Renault, 2016. "Push-me pull-you: comparative advertising in the OTC analgesics industry," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 47(4), pages 1029-1056, November.
    4. Landry, Peter, 2022. "Pricing, advertising, and endogenous consideration of an “insistent” product," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    5. He, Chen & Klein, Tobias, 2018. "Advertising as a Reminder : Evidence from the Dutch State Lottery," Other publications TiSEM 0791692c-433c-4e8d-8374-a, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    6. He, Chen, 2018. "Essays on the role and effects of advertising," Other publications TiSEM 47a3272a-54f1-4a90-9714-c, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    7. Garrett A. Johnson & Randall A. Lewis & David H. Reiley, 2017. "When Less Is More: Data and Power in Advertising Experiments," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 36(1), pages 43-53, January.
    8. He, Chen & Klein, Tobias, 2018. "Advertising as a reminder: Evidence from the Dutch State Lottery," CEPR Discussion Papers 12948, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    9. Draganska, Michaela & Klapper, Daniel, 2010. "Choice Set Heterogeneity and the Role of Advertising: An Analysis with Micro and Macro Data," Research Papers 2063, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    10. Du, Ruihuan & Zhong, Yu & Nair, Harikesh S. & Cui, Bo & Shou, Ruyang, 2019. "Causally Driven Incremental Multi Touch Attribution Using a Recurrent Neural Network," Research Papers 3761, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    11. Dubois, Pierre & Griffith, Rachel & O'Connell, Martin, 2014. "The Effects of Banning Advertising on Demand, Supply and Welfare: Structural Estimation on a Junk Food Market," CEPR Discussion Papers 9942, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    12. Johannes Hermle & Giorgio Martini, 2022. "Valid and Unobtrusive Measurement of Returns to Advertising through Asymmetric Budget Split," Papers 2207.00206, arXiv.org.
    13. Kurt P. Munz & Minah H. Jung & Adam L. Alter, 2020. "Name Similarity Encourages Generosity: A Field Experiment in Email Personalization," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 39(6), pages 1071-1091, November.
    14. Christina Uhl & Nadia Abou Nabout & Klaus Miller, 2020. "How Much Ad Viewability is Enough? The Effect of Display Ad Viewability on Advertising Effectiveness," Papers 2008.12132, arXiv.org.
    15. Chadwick J. Miller & Daniel C. Brannon & Jim Salas & Martha Troncoza, 2021. "Advertising, incentives, and the upsell: how advertising differentially moderates customer- vs. retailer-directed price incentives’ impact on consumers’ preferences for premium products," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 49(6), pages 1043-1064, November.
    16. Navdeep S. Sahni & Dan Zou & Pradeep K. Chintagunta, 2017. "Do Targeted Discount Offers Serve as Advertising? Evidence from 70 Field Experiments," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(8), pages 2688-2705, August.
    17. Laurent Cavenaile & Pau Roldan-Blanco, 2021. "Advertising, Innovation, and Economic Growth," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 13(3), pages 251-303, July.
    18. Kirthi Kalyanam & John McAteer & Jonathan Marek & James Hodges & Lifeng Lin, 2018. "Cross channel effects of search engine advertising on brick & mortar retail sales: Meta analysis of large scale field experiments on Google.com," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 1-42, March.
    19. Navdeep S. Sahni & Harikesh S. Nair, 2020. "Sponsorship Disclosure and Consumer Deception: Experimental Evidence from Native Advertising in Mobile Search," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 39(1), pages 5-32, January.
    20. C. Clark & Ulrich Doraszelski & Michaela Draganska, 2009. "The effect of advertising on brand awareness and perceived quality: An empirical investigation using panel data," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 7(2), pages 207-236, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:ormksc:v:37:y:2018:i:1:p:78-96. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: . General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Matthew Walls (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service hosted by the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis . RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.