Article hero image

Super Bowl Ads Are Super Expensive. They’re Also a Better Deal

Wealthsimple makes powerful financial tools to help you grow and manage your money. Learn more

Wealthsimple, a company founded in part on the principles of lowering fees and disrupting legacy companies, does not seem like the kind of start-up that would invest in Super Bowl ads. But it just so happens that another one of our founding principles is: look at the data. That’s why we’re investing in Super Bowl ads for the fifth time.

OK, let’s start with some facts. Super Bowl ads are insanely expensive. If you know one thing about them, that’s what you know. Conventional wisdom holds that they’re flashy, overpriced, and all about bragging rights — exactly the sort of stuff we’d normally avoid. But it turns out that if anything — dollar for dollar — they’re actually a little under-priced. Here’s why we think that.

TLDR Newsletter Logo

Sign up for our weekly non-boring newsletter about money, markets, and more. Sorry, TLDR is currently available in English only.

By providing your email, you are consenting to receive communications from Wealthsimple Media Inc. Visit our Privacy Policy for more info, or contact us at privacy@wealthsimple.com or 80 Spadina Ave., Toronto, ON.

This year, it will cost about $5.5 million USD for a 30-second ad in America. But there’s a key clause in that sentence: in America. In Canada, it costs much less — about 95 per cent less. In fact, three ads — a 30-second ad, and two 15-second ads — cost less than what you’d pay in the U.S. for just one 30-second spot.

Of course, that’s still a lot of money. And, you might be saying, there are fewer people in Canada — not to mention that those people may not be as interested in the Super Bowl. Well, it turns out that a higher percentage of Canadians than Americans watched at least some of the game last year: 51 per cent of the population here versus 45 per cent there.

What about average numbers of viewers? Last year’s Super Bowl drew a record average of 9.5 million Canadian viewers — the highest viewership since 2015 when the previous record was set. (By the way, the number of Canadians who watched last year’s Super Bowl is also at least three and a half times more than the number who watched the Stanley Cup final in recent years!) But in America, Super Bowl viewership has actually gone down since 2015. Still, since there are more people in America, you might wonder whether, per capita, you’re still getting a better deal by running your ad in the U.S. Nope. Ad people measure cost in price per thousand viewers. Our 30-second Super Bowl ad, assuming a similar viewership to last year, will cost at least 65 per cent less per thousand viewers than it would if we advertised in the U.S. Which means you get nearly three times as many viewers in Canada for every dollar spent.

Does all of this still hold true in the midst of a pandemic, with so many other demands on viewers’ time? Even if this year’s Super Bowl doesn’t set any new records, the numbers from recent years don’t lie. A Canadian Super Bowl ad is still a good deal, and should be for some time.

Which is why we figured the Super Bowl was a great way to launch our new ad campaign: “Anyone Can Do Their Taxes.” It’s the official unveiling of our low-fee, high-ease online tax filing platform, Wealthsimple Tax. (You may have known it as SimpleTax, the Canadian-favourite tax software we recently brought into the family). Even if you didn’t watch the game, you'll probably see our ads somewhere in the coming months (and on our YouTube channel).

Recommended for you

  • The Story of the Stock Market, Told by Five Companies

    Money & the World

  • How 2023 Cracked Wall Street’s Crystal Ball

    Money & the World

  • We Know About the Gender Pay Gap and the Race Pay Gap. But There’s a 2SLGBTQIA+ Pay Gap, Too.

    Money & the World

  • Stocks Hit Fresh Highs. Is It a Bad Time to Invest?

    Money & the World

Oh, and one note about the economics around these ads. While we did hire the best creative partners imaginable — in this case the brilliant director Matthew Swanson, along with a trio of familiar figures (wink) — we didn’t use a big expensive ad agency. We made them in-house.

So if you’re wondering why a new, nimble, digital-first company (with, for the record, more than 1.5 million users and $10 billion in assets under management) would buy a Super Bowl ad, it’s simple: it makes a pretty good investment. Which is something we pride ourselves on knowing.

*Notes:

  • (1) “Cost per thousand viewers” are for audiences aged 2+.

  • (2) $200,000 was the cost of a Canadian Super Bowl ad on the high end, per The Globe and Mail in 2020.

  • (3) When we mention Canadian Super Bowl viewers, we’re including both English and French language networks.

  • (4) When we mention last year’s U.S. Super Bowl audience, we’re only counting the average audience of 99.9 million who watched on TV, and not people who digitally streamed the game.

Wealthsimple uses technology and smart, friendly humans to help you grow and manage your money. Invest, save, trade, and even do your taxes in a better, simpler way.

Money + the World

"BURNOUT HAS BECOME OUR BASE TEMPERATURE. WE’RE THE BURNOUT GENERATION."

Anne Helen Petersen explains how things are different for the generation the world seems to love to hate.

TLDR Newsletter

Business news made simple

Sign up for our weekly non-boring newsletter about money, markets, and more. Sorry, TLDR is currently available in English only.

By providing your email, you are consenting to receive communications from Wealthsimple Media Inc. Visit our Privacy Policy for more info, or contact us at privacy@wealthsimple.com or 80 Spadina Ave., Toronto, ON.

  • Money & the World

    In the War Against TikTok, Zuck Has Algorithm Envy

    The Chinese-owned video platform is growing fast and gobbling up tens of billions of dollars of ad revenue each year. Legacy social-media brands, in turn, are fighting for eyeballs, and survival.

  • Money & the World

    Bonds Are Supposed to Limit Losses When Stocks Are Down. What Happened?

    When stocks fall, bonds typically go up. But for the first time in a (very) long time, that hasn’t been the case.

  • Wealthsimple

    Grow your money

    Smart investing tools and personalized advice designed to build long term wealth.

  • Money & the World

    Why Does Everyone Care About Commodities All of a Sudden?

    The first half of 2022 was tough on most markets. But one type of investment has been having a strong run: commodities. Why is that, exactly? Also, what is that? And can someone who’s not ready to store 50,000 pounds of cattle get involved?

  • Money & the World

    How to Understand Your Portfolio Performance When Everything is Down

    Here’s how we build our managed portfolios to withstand a downturn. (And, yes, that means some losses are normal.)

Wealthsimple

Grow your money

Smart investing tools and personalized advice designed to build long term wealth.

Get startedright arrow icon
TLDR Newsletter Logo

Sign up for our weekly non-boring newsletter about money, markets, and more. Sorry, TLDR is currently available in English only.

By providing your email, you are consenting to receive communications from Wealthsimple Media Inc. Visit our Privacy Policy for more info, or contact us at privacy@wealthsimple.com or 80 Spadina Ave., Toronto, ON.

The content on this site is produced by Wealthsimple Technologies Inc. and is for informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be investment advice or any other kind of professional advice. Before taking any action based on this content you should consult a professional. We do not endorse any third parties referenced on this site. When you invest, your money is at risk and it is possible that you may lose some or all of your investment. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Historical returns, hypothetical returns, expected returns and images included in this content are for illustrative purposes only. By using this website, you accept our (Terms of Use) and (Privacy Policy). Copyright 2023 Wealthsimple Technologies Inc.