Simply put, more women are watching the Super Bowl, and advertisers are finally taking notice.
Over the past three years, male-only celebrity ads have decreased by 2%, while ads featuring both genders have surged by 79%.
Many commentators have attributed this, in part, to Taylor Swift’s high-profile relationship with Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce. Her presence has driven up ticket demand, particularly for luxury suites, and helped 2024’s Super Bowl reach a record-breaking 202 million viewers, 49% of whom were women. This marks a 23% increase from 2023. This Sunday’s game is expected to attract the largest and most diverse audience yet, reflecting the NFL’s growing appeal among women and girls.
Advertisers appear to be bringing a healthier and more female-focused message to this year. Health and beauty brands are joining the fray, many of whom for the first time, and longstanding Super Bowl advertisers have started incorporating women into their ads in a less sexualised capacity.
Dove are running their Body Confident Sport campaign for the second year, designed to address the fact that in America, almost half of girls drop out of sports before reaching 14 due to low body confidence issues.
Novartis is running an ad to raise breast cancer awareness and to encourage more screenings, aimed at women aged 40 and younger, featuring Wanda Sykes and Hailee Steinfeld.
Hims & Hers is calling attention to the obesity epidemic in the US, and is critiquing the US healthcare system over restricted access to weight loss drugs, offering their own product as an alternative.
The star power behind this year’s ads reflects a clear trend: smart, funny women are taking centre stage. Martha Stewart, Shania Twain, Doja Cat, Charli XCX, and Meg Ryan are among the high-profile names leading this year’s celebrity-driven commercials.
In comparison, 2024 saw many more male-focused ads, with more male celebrities in the spotlight too; Post Malone, Lil Wayne, Jeff Goldblum, Bradley Cooper, and Usher to name just a few. Betting apps were also a popular theme for this year, and in 2023 cryptocurrency was the topic de jeur, while beer commercials continue to dominate every year, all of which are traditionally male interests. This is not to say women were not present, with Beyoncé’s ‘Can’t B Broken’ Verizon ad and Jennifer Lopez for Dunkin’ receiving a huge portion of the subsequent cultural buzz. However, with 2025’s focus on not only women, but also women’s health and issues, this year is set to be a female-led phenomenon.
Ultimately, the increasing presence of women and female-centric narratives in a traditionally male-dominated space is a promising indication of progress. Women’s interests, purchasing power, and viewership are not only being acknowledged – they are being embraced.
