The Impact of 2025 Super Bowl Commercials on Rankings

The Super Bowl has long been viewed as the holy grail of advertising platforms. Not only is the game viewed by millions of people all over the world, but many tune in specifically for the commercials. 

Planning the campaign with a top-tier marketing agency can tip the odds in your favor, but there are no guarantees in such a saturated space. Before going all in on a dicey play, take the time to analyze the risk-reward ratio. There’s plenty of data to inform the potential impact Super Bowl commercials can have on your digital footprint. Let’s dive in!

The Good: Conversations Lead to Conversions

Unsurprisingly, search engine inquiries and social media discussions about the Super Bowl, the halftime show, and the ads shown between the action spike during and after the big game. 

Viewers were curious about a myriad of topics, from what A-list celebrities were wearing to the meaning of nostalgia-driven ads to the political messaging behind Kendrick Lamar’s performance. That curiosity naturally leads to higher online rankings and search interest for the subjects involved. 

According to Semrush and Google Trends, these were some of the top U.S. trending keywords:

• Kendrick Lamar halftime show
  • The search volume was up 1,000% to 10 million searches.
• Super Bowl score
  • The search volume was up 1,000% to 10 million searches.
• Eagles vs. Chiefs
  • The search volume was up 1,000% to 5 million searches.
• Serena Williams
  • The search volume was up 1,000% to 2 million searches.
• Yeezy
  • The search volume was up 1,000% to 1 million searches.
• Taylor Swift Super Bowl
  • The search volume was up 1,000% to 1 million searches.
• Cooper Dejean
  • The search volume was up 1,000% to 1 million searches.
• Jalen Hurts
  • The search volume was up 700% to 1 million searches.
• Jalen Hurts wife
  • The search volume was up 1,000% to 500k+ searches.
• Trump Super Bowl
  • The search volume was up 1,000% to 500k+ searches.
• Travis Kelce
  • The search volume was up 900% to 500k+ searches.
• Best Super Bowl commercials
  • The search volume was up 900% to 500k+ searches.
• Tom Brady watch
  • The search volume was up 700% to 500k+ searches.
• Nick Sirianni
  • The search volume was up 1,000% to 200k+ searches.
• Anne Hathaway
  • The search volume was up 1,000% to 200k+ searches.
• Aaron Rodgers
  • The search volume was up 1,000% to 200k+ searches.
• Eagles parade
  • The search volume was up 1,000% to 200k+ searches.
• Ice Spice
  • The search volume was up 500% to 200k+ searches.
• Super Bowl 2026
  • The search volume was up 500% to 200k+ searches.
• Vic Fangio
  • The search volume was up 1,000% to 50k+ searches.

Brands like Disney (968k views) and Tubi (391k views) saw some of the most engagement during the week, while Fox (1,288%) and Lays (440%) saw some of the biggest increases in traffic. 

Budweiser and Hims received the most social media followers that week. 

Beyond giving brands, celebrities, and content creators a massive boost in online visibility, Super Bowl ads often lead to a surge in sales, and that trend is on the rise. 

For example, in a survey conducted between August 2024 and February 2025 among adults in the United States, 26% of likely Super Bowl viewers said that celebrity endorsements played a role in their purchasing habits, 11 percentage points higher than the response from the general population. Clearly, Super Bowl ads carry weight.

The Bad: What Goes Up…

In a recent interview, Avinash Kaushik, former analytics lead at Google and current Chief Strategy Officer at Croud, provided some fascinating insight into Super Bowl advertising. 

Notably, he touches on rapidly diminishing returns: within six hours, half of the buzz surrounding the commercial fades. Over the next four days, the remaining interest plummets. This phenomenon includes top-performing ads.

To combat this problem, Kaushik recommends a “spike and sustain” approach:

• Spike: Launch a high-impact campaign to elevate key performance indicators like purchase intent and unaided brand awareness.
• Sustain: Maintain those boosted metrics by following up with continuous marketing efforts.

Kaushik recommends allocating an extra $3 to $5 for every $1 spent on the Super Bowl ad to ongoing marketing over the following weeks. This helps to transition the initial buzz into lasting momentum.

Regardless of your strategy, it’s important to note that even if your Super Bowl ad is a hit, there’s no guarantee that you’re going to recoup your investment. With roughly 80 ads hitting the screen during the game, it’s easy to get lost in the noise. And, a drastic influx of sales still may not be enough to land in the green. 

Partner With Top-Tier Marketing Experts

Super Bowl marketing isn’t for everyone. It’s a high-risk, high-reward gamble. Whether you want to plan a big-ticket campaign around next year’s Super Bowl or fine-tune your approach to social media marketing or SEO, let’s talk. We’ve helped countless clients hit and surpass their loftiest goals, and we’re ready to do the same for you. Contact us for a free consultation.