How NFL Sponsors Win With Likeable Ads

Getting significant reach during NFL games is a given for advertisers. But with all of that reach, it's also critical to understand if audiences actually like the spots they're seeing en masse.

Data from iSpot's recent NFL TV Advertising Playbook showcases some of last season's top sponsor ads by likeability, as well as purchase intent.

• Food brands like Little Caesars, Taco Bell and Pringles all scored well above NFL sponsor norms for likeability, in part by featuring delicious shots of edible items – and/or including famous football faces in their ads.
• Of the most likeable NFL sponsor spots, all of the top five include football-related celebrities.
• Advertisers like DraftKings, AT&T and USAA also executed on incredibly likeable ads relative to their respective category norms, by using either non-football players (DraftKings used Kevin Hart and LeBron James), straight-forward messaging (USAA) or a heartfelt message (AT&T).
• Fame also helped drive positive purchase intent, however – the top five NFL sponsor ads last season by that metric (indicating that consumers were more likely to buy a product/service after seeing the spot) all featured celebs as well.

Check out iSpot's report for more on the NFL's biggest ad successes, and the playbook for winning this season.