Patriots-Rams Matchup Bodes Well for Viewership

02/01/2019
Contact: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu and Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
Super Bowl advertisers may hit pay dirt this Sunday when the New England Patriots face the Los Angeles Rams, but don鈥檛 expect the broadcast鈥檚 commercials to stir any controversy, says Spencer Ross, a marketing and branding expert available for interviews on the subject.
Super Bowl advertising costs more than $5.25 million per 30 seconds of airtime this year, Ross says, and most brands began creating Sunday night鈥檚 commercials early in 2018. That means viewers will be treated to what advertisers know works best 鈥 spots featuring beloved celebrities, pets and animals. Think puppies and the Budweiser Clydesdales, not Colin Kaepernick鈥檚 Nike campaign or Gillette鈥檚 鈥渢oxic masculinity鈥 spot.聽
鈥淰iewers won鈥檛 be treated to much in the way of up-to-the minute controversy, as long as themes such as social cohesion, belonging and celebrating diversity aren鈥檛 viewed by the public as divisive or political,鈥 says Ross about the commercials fans will see on Sunday.聽
Ross is an expert on digital marketing, branding and consumer engagement with new technologies. He is a marketing professor at 51视频, where he co-directs the Manning School of Business Behavioral Lab, which examines human behavior in relation to management, leadership, organizational strategy, economics, entrepreneurship and more.聽
Along with feel-good ads, he predicts the Patriots-Rams matchup will draw a sizable audience 鈥 good news for advertisers and the NFL, which has seen viewership decline over the past few years, a development pundits claim is linked to everything from confusion over changes to the game鈥檚 rules to controversy over the behavior of athletes off the field.聽
鈥淲ith the home crowd in New England eyeing another Brady-Belichick win and the rest of the country waiting for the young Rams to take down the Leviathan known as the Patriots, there鈥檚 reason to believe brands will get a better return on their Super Bowl ad investment. Advertisers will get the matchup they hope will hold viewers鈥 attention to watch the commercials, not just at the beginning of the game but all the way through,鈥 Ross says.聽
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