3 Reasons Why It’s Rare to See a Super Bowl Ad Without a Celebrity

Welcome back to the Celebrity Bowl, 2026 edition, starring Adrien Brody, Emma Stone, Serena Williams, George Clooney, and others, across ads for brands like TurboTax, Squarespace, Ro, and Grubhub… and others.

It didn’t used to be this way. Super Bowl ads without celebrity appearances used to outnumber ads with celebs by a good margin, according to data from TV measurement firm iSpot.

In 2017, 41% of ads had a celeb compared to 59% without, but that ratio reversed the very next year, which saw David Harbour pitch Tide detergent and Jeff Goldblum resurrect his classic Jurassic Park role for Jeep (a similar concept to Comcast-owned Xfinity’s ad this year).

The celeb/no-celeb ratio narrowed the next year, but in 2020, the divide became a chasm, as 78% of ads featured at least one celebrity (but probably more).

Since then, well over 60% of ads have featured a celeb, and iSpot expects 70% of this year’s Super Bowl ads to have one.

At this point, Super Bowl ad buyers should just count on paying the celeb tax, on top of $8 million fee for 30 seconds of air time.

It’s a vicious cycle, because it’s become harder for Super Bowl advertisers to get attention without a celeb. Since most ads have them, there’s now a higher bar for cutting through the Super Bowl clutter, said Sean Muller, founder and CEO of iSpot.

Love them or hate them, here are three reasons why Super Bowl advertisers need celebs in their ads, based on iSpot’s analysis of the data.

Celebs reach audiences beyond linear TV

Celebs talk about their ads on social media, reaching people beyond the confines of Super Bowl air time. That’s especially important because as the cost of Super Bowl spots go up, it’s more important for advertisers to maximize the attention driven to their very expensive buy.

“When a brand adds a celebrity to a campaign, they have the opportunity to reach audiences far beyond the TV spot,” said Jessie Mash, partner and chief business officer at SonderCo, a brand and talent partnerships agency. “The commercial often extends into earned media opportunities, social amplification, and cultural conversation.”

Celebs are a quick way to grab attention

Super Bowl advertisers have 30 to 60 seconds to grab the attention of people who might be snacking, talking with friends, or scrolling on mobile. A celeb appearance is a fast and easy hook to get people invested.

SonderCo’s Mash said that brands are looking for more effective ways to use celebrities this year. For example, Instacart paired up Benson Boone and Ben Stiller to reach different demographics.

In another example, Fanatics picked Kendall Jenner to grab people’s attention using a celebrity they may not expect to appear in an ad about sports betting.

Celebs sustain buzz

Marketers are increasingly doing more with less, and the investment of a pricy Super Bowl ad needs to pay off. Celebrities have built-in followings who help marketers plant the seeds of a campaigns weeks before it airs.

Using a celebrity for press and social buzz a few weeks before ahead of time can double the value of a Super Bowl ad.

Hiring top-tier talent is also a safe bet for marketers, making it easier to justify the more than $8 million price.

“For many brands, the ROI isn’t only in the 30 seconds on air, but in the pre- and post-game halo effect, where celebrities help stretch the campaign into a broader cultural moment that is covered extensively by media outlets and social media chatter,” said SonderCo’s Mash.

Making sure a celeb spot is successful

Since well over 60% of Super Bowl ads have celebrity talent, it’s fair to say simply having a celebrity on screen for 30 seconds doesn’t guarantee success.

ISpot uses a metric called “likeability” to grade ads using survey respondents who are asked if they will purchase or visit a brand after seeing an ad.

Last year’s top celeb-driven Super Bowl ads using this metric hired talent that fit the brand. For example, Gordon Ramsay’s ad for kitchenware company Hexclad scored high with iSpot’s tracking because of the product association with Ramsay.

Many also mixed in a healthy dose of nostalgia. Hellmann’s spot, inspired by Rob Reiner’s seminal romcom When Harry Met Sally, brought back Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal.

Other ads from last year, featuring celebs, underperformed because the celeb presence was just confusing, per iSpot. Viewers couldn’t make sense of FanDuel’s ad starring Peyton and Eli Manning. Similarly, they had problems understanding Meta’s ad for Ray-Ban smart glasses starring Chris Hemsworth and Chris Pratt-neither of whom are usually associated with technology or glasses-and found themselves in a spot that didn’t play off their personas at all.