The woman with a Big Reputation and an even bigger influence
123.4 million people tuned in to watch the Super Bowl. Some stayed for the football, others to catch a glimpse of the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Love Story.
Despite only being on screen for a total of 55 seconds, Miss Americana (Taylor) and her Heartbreak Prince trended, overshadowing the hype surrounding Usher.
So, whilst the coverage of the Half Time Show was clearly affected in the aftermath, did the blossoming romance also impact the planning of the legendary brand ads too?
The first visible shift in the Super Bowl viewing were the brands choosing to spend millions on those all-important commercial slots.
L’Oréal and NYX Cosmetics purchased their first ever TV spots and although they haven’t explicitly said it’s because of Taylor Swift bringing a new demographic to the Super Bowl screens, it would be smart to assume so.
Dads all over the USA have also claimed their daughters were taking an interest in football for the first time since the romance started. Skincare brand, Cetaphil saw this as a perfect opportunity to create a touching advert that showed a father and daughter bonding during the game. TikTok user, Sharon Mbabzi, did accuse the skincare brand of stealing the idea from her content, but Cetaphil ‘swiftly’ responded and made her an ambassador.
Taylor is creating new cultural influencers in Travis’ family too. Travis’ brother, Jason Kelce, a football player with a large fan base, and wife Kylie Kelce were both featured in Super Bowl campaigns. Dove chose Kylie Kelce to support their cause, highlighting 45% of teen girls globally drop out of sports due to low body confidence, whilst Jason promoted his favourite condiment, Frank’s Red Hot.
Joining the big ads, reactive quick wins also emerged.
Knowing that game food is a big American tradition, Delish created an Instagram carousel, sharing hacks for Swiftie-themed-snacks, including ‘Ever-S’mores’ and ‘Anti (pasto)-Hero’
There was also plenty of opportunities for new memes. Trilogy Products used an image of Blake Lively and Taylor embracing to personify the strong bond between their customers and SPF.
And guaranteeing clickbait, it seemed every major news outlet across the globe posted the kiss-cam footage; British Vogue liken it to a scene from a romcom.
These demonstrated it doesn’t always need to be big budget ads that get cut-through, quick and reactive posts can be cost-effective and leave a mark too.
In summary, the Super Bowl remains to be one of the most talked about nights worldwide but this year the Taylor Swift fascination flipped the script on creative, overshadowed the Half Time Show, and, more positively, opened the event to new demographics. Brands elevated her popularity to captivate the gen-z and millennial audience and bring females to the game, and with great success.
And if brands are looking for the next opportunity, the cultural imprint her fandom creates seems to have no bounds either; news outlets have already predicted the influence she could have on the US election, potentially shaping the habits of millions.
