Tom Cruise’s Super Bowl Presence Was the Color of Money

Tom Cruise has been box office gold for decades, but now in his 60s, his presence at Super Bowl LIX has proved he is the go-to A-list celebrity for major sports event activations — especially when they align with his blockbuster releases like Top Gun: Maverick and Mission: Impossible.

According to consumer research firm MarketCast, The Mission: Impossible Super Bowl LIX ad was spot on in terms of marketing, buzz and potentially ticket sales. The spot:

• Generated over 53,000 social media mentions, with a staggering 98% of them happening within the first 15 minutes of Tom’s pre-taped appearance and the ad airing that followed. The appearance also created an instant spike in Google Search traffic – demonstrating powerful, real-time engagement.
• For comparison, Thunderbolts racked up over 80,000 social media mentions in 24 hours — making it the most talked about Super Bowl spot on social media.  
  • But Thunderbolts had the advantage of a full trailer debut, whereas Mission: Impossible only aired a 30-second teaser.
• Was MarketCast’s top movie trailer in terms of ad breakthrough. In fact, 50% of consumers who saw the ad remembered not just the ad, but what it was a promo for. The next closest movie trailer was Jurassic World: Rebirth, which scored a 41% in terms of ad breakthrough.

Cruise’s Super Bowl pre-game activation follows his show-stopping appearance at the Olympic Closing Ceremony in Paris last year, where he rappelled from the stadium roof, retrieved the Olympic flag from U.S. gymnast Simone Biles and sped off on a motorcycle. No, really, he actually did that. That stunt generated Tom’s biggest social buzz since the 2023 MTV Movie Awards, with more than 64,000 posts within an hour of the event.

While most actors with five decade long careers begin slowing down, Cruise seems to be speeding up – and Hollywood marketers, leagues, fans and brands are rejoicing.