Super Bowl in the culture wars: celebrity boycotts, wary advertisers – and who will play at half-time?
- NFL has tried to keep the biggest night for sports and advertising in the US above politics
- It’s treatment of quarterback Colin Kaepernick is a sticking point
The Super Bowl is traditionally the biggest night for sport, entertainment and advertising in the US, but in the wake of intense politicisation of the NFL, Super Bowl LIII is shaping up to be a fierce battle, not just of sporting prowess, but in the embittered culture wars.
The event is still three months away, but organisers are having trouble securing big-name performers, advertisers are unsure whether to lean into the politics now surrounding the NFL or eschew the event entirely, and politicians are seizing upon the occasion for partisan squabbling.
“The Super Bowl is really the last water cooler event we have,” said Mark Wenneker, chief creative officer US of MullenLowe, the firm behind the memorable E-Trade spot during last year’s Super Bowl.
“There aren’t a lot of moments we have like that any more. The Oscars is close but it’s not the same.”
Figuring out how to remind people of that shared experience will be a challenge for advertising firms such as Wenneker’s. Some may avoid the potential political landmine of aligning their brands with the NFL too closely altogether.
