The Latest: Male celebrities dominate in Super Bowl ads.
The Latest on the ads of the 2018 Super Bowl (all times Eastern Time):
7 p.m.
Just who are the 111 million viewers of the Super Bowl? According to Nielsen, the audience last year was almost evenly split between men and women — 53 percent and 47 percent, respectively.
But advertisers are again turning mostly to male celebrities. Charles R. Taylor, a professor of marketing at Villanova University, said his analysis of Super Bowl ads released in advance last week showed a roughly 2-1 ratio of male-female celebrities in principle roles — in line with past years.
The first exception came after the kickoff. Toyota touted its longtime Olympic and Paralympic sponsorship with the story of Canadian Alpine Skier Lauren Woolstencroft, a Paralympic gold medalist.
Later, Cindy Crawford will reprise her role for Pepsi in a nostalgic spot celebrating pop culture moments of years past.
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6:45 p.m.
Get ready to… chuckle gently.
This year’s Super Bowl ads feature celebrities galore and light humor. Marketers are trying their hardest to connect with viewers and entertain without offending. So Bill Hader will stack Pringles to create new flavors. Lexus will feature Marvel’s Black Panther. And Pepsi will show a lip sync rap battle between Morgan Freeman and Peter Dinklage.
Advertisers want to steer away from politics after a year of tumult. Many companies released ads online early in hopes of generating extra buzz since ads cost $5 million per 30 seconds. But there are still a few surprises left, with Fiat Chrysler, ETrade and Verizon yet to release their ads.
