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Love and business:

Because of megastar

Taylor Swift's

relationship with football player

Travis Kelce,

there are significantly more women among the Super Bowl viewers this year

Photo: Rob Carr/Getty Images/AFP

In the USA alone, more than 200 million people are expected to be in front of their television screens this Sunday, well over half of the country's 335 million inhabitants, to watch the American football final of the National Football League (NFL). The Super Bowl is the largest single sporting event of the year and therefore also one of the most economically interesting advertising venues in the world. The final game is also gaining in importance in Germany; around 1.8 million viewers are forecast here when the Kansas City Chiefs play against the San Francisco 49ers.

Many companies want to position their products as cleverly as possible during the mega event. In recent years, advertising customers have included large corporations such as Amazon, Google and Pepsi. But this year the Super Bowl is experiencing a kind of revolution - suddenly companies from industries that were previously rarely seen are getting involved: beauty and health companies.

The reason: the relationship between the megastar

Taylor Swift

(34) and the football player

Travis Kelce

(34), who reached the final with his team Kansas City Chiefs.

Swift's planned presence alone means that millions of her predominantly female fans are currently in her "Super Bowl Era", a reference to the singer's current Eras world tour. They have arranged to meet online for sometimes huge parties under the same title to watch the game.

The Swifties, as the fans also call themselves, are extremely loyal and follow their star everywhere. That's why the NFL, like many other brands before it, is literally overrun by fans. In view of the megastar's enormous economic power, economists are already talking about “Swiftonomics”. Their concerts and related consumer spending drove 2023

In the USA alone, it generated more than four billion dollars in sales in just a few months.

Swift has already brought in $331.5 million for the NFL

According to the analysis firm Apex Marketing Group, the world star has brought in an incredible $331.5 million (around €305 million) for the NFL and her boyfriend's team since their relationship began this season, for example through Swift merchandise and increased viewership. The number of female spectators at the games increased by 9 percent - the number of Swifties is likely to be even higher for the Super Bowl.

Singer Swift doesn't even appear in the famous halftime show, which this year was hosted by singer

Usher

(45).

will take over. Rather, fans are simply hoping to catch a glimpse of the singer in her box or on the field afterwards; some are even predicting a marriage proposal from Kelce on the social media app TikTok.

30 seconds for seven million dollars

Companies know how to use this skillfully. When it became clear that Kelce's team would play in the Super Bowl, NYX Makeup, a subsidiary of L'Oréal, bought its first Super Bowl commercial. The singer

Cardi B

(31)

can be seen in it.

with a bright lip gloss from the company.

The Dove brand is also running an ad this year for the first time since 2015. The Unilever subsidiary, best known for shower gels and deodorants, shows sweating young women doing sports, who of course always have the right scent in their pockets.

ELF Cosmetics, however, is taking part for the second time in a row. But this year with increased expectations: Marketing director

Kory Marchisotto

(44) told the New York Times that Kansas City's participation in the Super Bowl would be good for business - that is, Taylor Swift's participation.

To do this, Marchisotto first has to dig deep into his pockets: a 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl costs an average of $7 million. A decade ago the price was 4 million dollars, 20 years ago it was 2.4. Since a fixed quota of time and commercials is available for each broadcast, competition is fierce. The US television company CBS, which will broadcast the game on Sunday, had already declared its advertising slots to be sold out in November. Paramount, the owner of CBS, has secured almost a dozen of them, according to several US media outlets. For the first time since 2014, Volkswagen is also advertising during the show - on the occasion of its 75th anniversary in the USA.

Consumer spending hits new records

Consumer spending related to the Super Bowl will reach new records this year, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The game is expected to generate an additional $500 million for the economy of Las Vegas, where the final will be held. That includes sales from the city's estimated 150,000 visitors, who will spend an estimated $215 million on food, hotel rooms and gaming-related merchandise. Although Las Vegas has around 150,000 hotel rooms, the average nightly rate currently costs $900.

If you wanted to be there live, you had to pay around $4,000 for the cheapest ticket, according to the website Vividseats.com. Due to the rapid sell-out, tickets are now only available on the secondary market. The current average price here is $12,000.

The Super Bowl also has an effect on other cities because fans hold parties or stop by bars and restaurants. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), total spending will be $17.3 billion. That's about a billion dollars more than last year's game.

In addition, there are millions of euros for the gaming industry worldwide. According to the American Gaming Association, nearly 68 million American adults plan to bet on the outcome of the game.

Is this also about sport?

Regarding the sporting part of the event, one thing can be said: Due to their experience and performance in the previous play-offs, Swift's friend Kelce's team is considered

as a favorite. The team led by quarterback

Patrick Mahomes

(28) has won the Super Bowl twice in the past four years, while the 49ers from San Francisco have been waiting for the championship for almost 30 years.

Swift is currently continuing her Eras tour in Japan. Because she will be performing there 24 hours before the big game, her fans expressed concern that the singer might not be in Vegas in time for the game. The Japanese ambassador in Washington finally took the floor in the online debate and assured that she would make it in time.

The only problem: Swift has not yet found a parking space for her plane, as all 475 aircraft parking spaces at the four airports around Las Vegas are already fully booked. But one can be sure: this problem can be solved.