With the approaching 2020 presidential election, American politics are very polarized. The political climate in the United States is as divided as ever, and showing politically charged ads during the Super Bowl allows politicians to reach more people than usual to spread information about platforms.
Super Bowl LIV drew in a cumulative audience of 102 million viewers on Fox, Fox Deportes and Fox, NFL and Verizon’s digital properties, according to Deadline.
While the Super Bowl is not the most-watched sporting event globally, it takes the first place slot for the most-watched sporting event in the United States, according to Sports Illustrated.
Being an event with such a wide viewership, the Super Bowl does not take a side in politics. Both Democrats and Republicans watch the event and see the advertisements that air during commercial breaks.
Super Bowl ads also bring in high viewership outside of the Super Bowl’s commercial breaks, such as when ads from 2019 received nearly 105 million views on the original ads and over 1000 unofficial uploads before the Super Bowl aired, according to Forbes.
Because of the high number of viewers the Super Bowl pulls in, combined with the high viewership of ads uploaded online, the multiple hour broadcast is one of the best places for political ads to be shown.
During Super Bowl LIV, the campaigns for both President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate for president Mike Bloomberg showed 60 seconds of ads, according to USA Today.
Trump is already well-known, and most have already made decisions about him in relation to the 2020 election. However, Bloomberg’s ad was able to introduce his name and platform to many people who did not previously know about him, according to Politico.
“[The effectiveness] depends more on the popularity of the politician and the demographics of the audience,” sophomore dance major Jada Thomas said. “If somebody like Andrew Yang or Mike Bloomberg isn’t popular among a sea of football fans watching the Super Bowl that lean heavy right, it might not turn out well for [them]. If there are a lot of people on the fence or in the middle, [their] popularity might rise if [the ad is] convincing enough.”
Both Bloomberg and Trump’s ads likely caught the eyes Super Bowl viewers. Bloomberg’s anti-gun violence ad focused on the story of George Kemp, Jr.’s mother and Kemp, Jr.’s death due to gun violence. Trump’s mystery ad about his criminal justice reforms focused on the emotional story behind Alice Johnson’s clemency under Trump. It is likely that both ads were remembered after the Super Bowl, and viewers were likely to subsequently research the platforms mentioned in the ads.
Overall, politics take a major role in the 2020 social climate for the United States. A third of Americans believe healthcare, national security, gun policy and education will be important enough to base their vote on the stance of the politicians related to the issues, according to Gallup.
Because of this, showing memorable political ads during a time when people of all political ideologies watch the same broadcast allows for politicians to tell viewers their stances on issues such as gun policy, which Bloomberg covered in his ad.
The Super Bowl allows politicians to get the message out about their campaign and platforms to a wider audience than usual. This means people from all sides can learn more about the issues they deem important — important enough to even impact their vote in the November election.