Boardroom takes a look at how tech brands are showing up at this year’s Super Bowl events, which include big splashes from Microsoft, Verizon, Apple, and more.
Tech touches everything, especially at big sporting events like the Super Bowl.
Tech powerhouses such as Microsoft, Verizon, Apple, and Google spent millions to secure advertising spots at Super Bowl LVIII, but brands are going above and beyond to promote their best work at this year’s annual football showdown.
Let’s take a look at how tech brands are showing up at Super Bowl LVIII, but be warned, it doesn’t look like Meta, Amazon, Tesla, or Nvidia grabbed ad spots this year.
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Verizon
Verizon teased that Beyoncé may be starring in one of its ads during the game, which would be an epic return after not showing up in ads last year. Unlike most ads for this year’s Super Bowl, Verizon hasn’t shared creative details or teasers for what it has planned, but we can guess that it’s big since Verizon is an official NFL sponsor.
And that’s not all the wireless network service provider worked on for Super Bowl LVIII. I had the pleasure of touring Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders, back in December to see how much work Verizon put into installing 5G tech throughout the venue to accommodate communication during games, tailgating, admissions, and more. Verizon deployed approximately 250 5G radios covering the stadium’s seating areas, back of the house, suites, lounges, press box, concourse areas, and entryways. With this 5G capacity, fans inside the stadium can watch game highlights, keep tabs on their fantasy leagues and players’ stats, and use their phones for concession payments with ease. All they have to do is turn their WiFi off, and their devices will automatically connect to the 5G in the area.
Over the last three years, Verizon has also deployed 5G connectivity throughout the busiest areas in Las Vegas, including on the Strip, Fremont Street, the airport, Caesars Palace, the Raiders’ practice facilities, and more.
Apple
Apple is gearing up for its second Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show in partnership with Roc Nation, this time featuring Usher. To promote the much-anticipated performance, Apple CEO Tim Cook stars in an ad where he FaceTimes Ludacris, Taraji P. Henson, and Lil Jon in search of Usher. The teaser video will be followed up by another ad that will run before the Super Bowl telecast begins.
Apple brand will add to its presence in Vegas thanks to Usher dropping his ninth studio album, “Coming Home,” on Friday ahead of the big performance day.
Samsung
Samsung has worked hand-in-hand with Allegiant Stadium since the venue’s early building stages in 2017 in hopes of one day being the premier brand behind the screens during a Super Bowl.
Fast forward to today, and Samsung has installed 2,550 displays throughout the stadium, including its outdoor LED mesh display that spans 27,600 square feet. This isn’t Samsung’s first rodeo, though, since the company is also responsible for the screen inside of SoFi Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams. SoFi Stadium hosted the Super Bowl two years ago. Samsung has worked with other teams to outfit their stadiums with the best screens, including the Baltimore Ravens and Miami Dolphins.
The tech company put together a team of five technicians to test out its screens this week ahead of the game, Sports Business Journal reports, which is a job it typically outsources, but the Super Bowl is much too important for that.
YouTube
YouTube’s Super Bowl ad will run right before kick-off and is focused on NFL teams that sport birds as their mascots.
Dubbed “Migration,” the commercial features players from the Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens, and Seattle Seahawks being watched by a tracker as they fly in flocks in the sky. The ad slot promotes Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV and also features popular YouTube creators, including Hot Ones host Sean Evans, Deestroying, and Pierson Wodzynski.
The league partnered with these YouTube creators to attract new viewers and a younger demographic to the NFL. The creators have been continuing their work on the ground in Las Vegas through various content, and they’ll be featured on the big screen during the game.
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Snapchat
Snap is showing up at the Super Bowl this year in a few different ways.
Firstly, the Snapchat parent company announced earlier this week that it’s integrating with the NFL to bring its augmented reality tech to Allegiant Stadium. Stadium screens and scoreboards will show various custom Snap lenses that will be visible throughout the entire game, Boardroom’s Shlomo Sprung exclusively reports.
Aside from that, Snapchat will be running its first Super Bowl ad during the fourth quarter featuring its new “Less Social Media. More Snapchat” initiative. Snap secured a 30-second slot to showcase the new brand campaign.
“Social media is destroying the fabric of what it means to be human. People are tired of the popularity contest, the endless rabbit hole feed of horrific content, and the energy wasted trying to keep up with the Joneses,” a Snap spokesperson said in a statement. “Our latest campaign shows how Snapchat is different: a place where people can talk to their real friends with more compassion, more authenticity, and more love. We couldn’t think of a better place than the Super Bowl to start a conversation around how Snapchat is an alternative to social media.”
The Sphere
Various companies are advertising their brands on Las Vegas’ hottest digital billboard, The Sphere, and ads have been running on the venue’s screens all week in the lead-up to the game. Adidas produced a tribute to Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, and as part of its exclusive partnership, the NFL is running various ads, including a countdown to show time.
Content will continue to be featured on The Sphere throughout the game on Sunday, and some content will even coincide with real-time happenings on the field.
Microsoft
Microsoft is back with a Super Bowl ad for the first time since 2020 to promote Microsoft Copilot, its flagship platform that it describes as “your everyday AI companion.” Microsoft nabbed a 60-second spot to showcase how people of different ages with various career paths can use Copilot for everyday tasks, learning new skills, and creating new content.
It’s no surprise that Microsoft is promoting its new AI platform, and this year marks 10 years since the Big Tech company aired its first Super Bowl ad in 2014, which featured former NFL player Steve Gleason, who is battling ALS, using eye-tracking features on a Surface Pro tablet to speak.
TikTok
NFL and TikTok are back for their fourth annual tailgate and pregame livestream ahead of the big game.
TikTok users from all around the world can tune into the celebration at 5:30 p.m. ET on the NFL TikTok account or CBS to see a special performance from Gwen Stefani, who will headline the event alongside other programming.
Google secured a 60-second Super Bowl ad during the second quarter, which focuses on its AI tech called Guided Frame. The feature that’s part of the Pixel 8 phone’s AI camera tools assists visually impaired people in snapping photos. Google tapped blind filmmaker Adam Morse to bring the feature to life in the commercial it dubs “Javier in Frame.”
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