Don’t bother squinting into a crystal ball if you want a glimpse into the future. That’s what Super Bowl commercials are for. Those ultra-expensive, punchy, funny, and heartfelt ads reveal, in high gloss, what the next big thing is – and this year it’s certainly artificial intelligence (AI).
Outside of fast food, cars, beer, and insurance, AI will have a strong presence during the breaks in action, reflecting what is expected to be dominant globally in years to come. AI could contribute as much as $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030, according to a recent study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), a leading multinational accounting firm. That’s a hefty sum for an industry that has only been a hot topic since the release of ChatGPT in November 2022.
The estimated $8 million cost of a 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl seems reasonable, given the expected audience and deep pockets of established tech companies like Google and Meta. But the campaigns aren’t just about buying airtime, it is a chance for tech companies to shape public perception, as the technology is poised to dramatically change ways that we work, play, travel, and manage our health, finances, and even relationships.
According to the NFL’s Football Operations, more than 200 million viewers watched all or part of last year’s Super Bowl, a record that will likely be eclipsed with this year’s game. Both Google and Meta are planning to unveil an advertising campaign during the February 9th game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles inside the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, LA.
Google is unveiling 50 commercials in 50 states. The ads are profiles of small businesses in each respective state using AI to get more done. A Keyword article on Google’s Workspace webpage on January 30, 2025, spelled out the campaign. “If you live in Texas, you’ll see Bison Coolers, while residents of Oregon will be introduced to the team at Jacobsen’s Salt Co. Each of these small businesses is driving the American economy – and for this first-of-its-kind project, we’re spotlighting their innovation, grit and hard work, as they find new and incredible ways to use AI to transform how they work and do more of what they love.”
Harris Beber, who leads Google’s Global Marketing for Workspace, said of the campaign, “We wanted to show what’s possible with AI in workspace today, and how real businesses are using it. What better way to show the unexpected ways AI helps real businesses in America than to let them share their stories.”
There is a Google commercial that takes a broader view of how AI helps small businesses. The commercial references the economic impact of small business. There are 34 million small businesses in the U.S., employing almost half of America’s workforce, driving the economy. But staff can be overwhelmed with scheduling, marketing, drafting email communications, and balancing finances, tasks that Google’s Gemini can assist with.
“Small business owners have to wear many hats and solve problems on their own,” said Mr. Beber. “Gemini is now a core functionality included with Workspace business and enterprise plans, meaning customers can access tools that can help them with everything from writing grant proposals to developing marketing copy to mocking up designs in Slides, tasks they might not have had the time, capability, or resources for before.”
The advertising campaign is Mr. Beber’s brainchild, and the process of selecting the businesses that would be part of it also involved use of AI. That’s AI Studio which built a tool to review and summarize the interview transcripts of some 500 companies, allowing staff to make selections in a fraction of the time it would have otherwise taken.
Microsoft ran an ad last year, but it is unclear whether they will run one for Super Bowl LIX. Prior to last year’s commercial which promoted its AI assistant, Copilot, the company did not have an entry for four years.
Meta will return to the big game for the first time since 2022. Their commercial relies on a couple of A-listers, actors Chris Hemsworth and Chris Pratt, to promote its Ray-Ban smart glasses. The AI-powered glasses enable wearers to capture photos and videos, listen to music, and make calls and texts using voice commands. The two men, sporting black-rim, clear Wayfarers, appear in a couple of teasers on Meta’s website.
In one spot, both men are viewing dinosaur bones, and Mr. Pratt asks out loud, “Hey Meta, what kind of dinosaur is this?” His glasses offer an audio response, “That is a Deinonychus.” The glasses feature a HD camera for videos and live streaming, a photo capture button, open-ear speakers, a touchpad for play, pause, volume control and other features, and a battery case that gives up to 32 hours of charge time.
In another spot, the two men put to test the language translation feature with the glasses capturing a sentence in French atop a mirror. Mr. Pratt once again gives the prompt, “Hey Meta” and then he says “translate that.” Meta responds with the translation, “Which one of you is real?”
