G&R Study Finds Some Super Bowl Ads Perform Differently Among Democrats and Republicans, While Others Have Bipartisan Support

Pennington, NJ, February 04, 2022 --(PR.com)-- Americans love their Super Bowl. But what they like about it can vary significantly, like so much else, depending on political party affiliation. G&R reported last year (based on a study conducted on February 3, 2020, the day after Super Bowl LIV, among a representative online sample of 200 Super Bowl viewers) that Republicans are more likely than Democrats to identify the game itself as their favorite part of the broadcast while Democrats are more likely than Republicans to identify the half-time show as their favorite part of the broadcast. In addition, Republicans are more likely to feel there were too many commercials telecast during the Super Bowl while Democrats are more likely to say that the Super Bowl had some of the best advertising they had seen. Moreover, Republicans have higher self-efficacy than Democrats in that they are more likely to feel that people can overcome any obstacle if they want.

Additionally, G&R learned this year (based on a study conducted on February 8, 2021, the day after Super Bowl LV, among a representative online sample of 200 Super Bowl viewers) that members of each party rank different commercials above others. Advertising for Rocket Mortgage, Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband, and Jeep were ranked at least 10 points higher by Republicans than by Democrats. Advertising for The Disney Bundle (Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+), “Coming 2 America,” (Amazon Original Movie), Amazon Alexa, and “Yellowstone” (Paramount+ Original Series), were ranked at least 10 points higher by Democrats than by Republicans. And, advertising for M&M’s, MtnDew Major Melon, Doritos 3D Crunch, and Bud Light were ranked similarly by both political parties.

Generalizing the results loosely, Republicans rate Considered Goods advertising more favorably than Democrats, while Democrats rate Entertainment Related advertising more favorably than Republicans. There is little difference when the advertising is for Fast Moving Package Goods. Of course, a commercial’s appeal is a function of many variables, including its content and its execution.

According to G&R President, Scott Purvis, “From a communications perspective, the idea that the increasing divide between Republicans and Democrats, or other groups for than matter, is a function of social media echo chambers is an important insight. But the implications of the idea that the gulf may also be a consequence of how different people process the same information is also worthy of consideration."

Republican and Democrats have distinct profiles that go beyond traditional demographics, psychographics, and hot button descriptors about abortion, law and order, and governmental power. G&R's Super Bowl study shows that these distinctions can even arise in how audiences consume identical and universally liked programming like the Super Bowl. Establishing distinguishing markers that go beyond gives researchers a fuller understanding of how consequential those differences are and solutions for how they might be bridged.