Today’s Wonder of the Day was inspired by Daniel. Daniel Wonders, “why do people call the super bowl the super bowl?” Thanks for WONDERing with us, Daniel!
Each winter, millions of Americans gather around their televisions for Super Bowl Sunday. The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League (NFL).
NFL teams compete throughout the fall for the honor of being one of the top two teams who get to play in the biggest game of the year: the Super Bowl.
Though you may not find it listed on any calendar, Super Bowl Sunday is considered an unofficial holiday in the United States. In fact, after Thanksgiving, more food is eaten on Super Bowl Sunday than any other day of the year.
Most years the Super Bowl is the most-watched program on television in America and the second most-watched program worldwide. In February 2015, the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots played in the Super Bowl. More than 168 million people tuned in for the game, making it the most viewed program in history in the U.S.
Due to the high number of viewers during the Super Bowl, companies interested in buying commercial airtime pay a high price. In fact, if advertisers want to buy commercial time during the Super Bowl, they can expect to pay more than they would at any other time of the year.
The cost of a 30-second Super Bowl commercial was $37,500 in 1967. By 1994, the cost for the same 30 seconds of airtime was $900,000.
By 2015, the price had risen to approximately $4.5 million. That's about $150,000 for every second!
When advertisers purchase commercial airtime during the Super Bowl, they know two things. First, their commercials will be seen by millions and millions of people. Second, they are going to pay a high price just to buy the airtime.
Because of this, many advertisers invest even more money into developing commercials that are memorable, funny, and clever.
Super Bowl commercials have developed a reputation for being very entertaining. In fact, there are many people who don't even watch the football game but will tune in during breaks just to see commercials.
Over the years, many Super Bowl ads have become some of the most famous commercials in history. There are even websites that track real-time statistics on viewer opinion of Super Bowl commercials. Viewers are able to log in and fill out ballots, voting for their favorite and least favorite Super Bowl commercials.