Super Bowl Ad Report: From Doja Cat’s Cover of Hole’s ‘Celebrity Skin’ to an ELO Deep Cut, the Synchs Soundtracking 2022
variety.comCharlie Amter As omicron begins to fade, and Americans shake off the coronavirus winter blues, advertisers are returning to the Super Bowl with big, bold campaigns.
This year’s soundtrack veers from 2021’s tonal themes — muted, soulful or comforting — offering uplifting, and even humorous, usages.For this weekend’s Super Bowl LVI, some advertisers chose iconic songs for their instant recognition factor, or for their irony, or because the tune aligned well with the products they’re selling.
But most music publishers agree that this year marked a return to normal in the space, with more upbeat songs requested by brands as the nation seeks to turn the page on a waning pandemic.“Brands are back spending on music to enhance their commercials and pricing was very healthy this year — up from prior years,” says Brian Monaco, president and global chief marketing officer at Sony Music Publishing. “The majority of our licenses [this year] were for catalog, as iconic catalog songs can be a powerful tool within commercials because the audience has lifelong memories associated with them.” Among the major music publishers, Sony led the pack this year, with 15 song licenses for national in-game uses, while Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) was close behind at nine placements so far confirmed, and Warner Chappell Music and Kobalt both have around seven spots in the big game confirmed as of early Friday (commercial placements can change up until the last minute on Super Bowl weekend).“So far this year, we don’t have any ballads in the game,” says BMG’s vice president creative synch, advertising, Charlie Davis, who also adds that BMG boasts three in-game synchs during this year’s Super Bowl. “Every year we see requests for big.
Read more on variety.com
