What was the most expensive Super Bowl commercial of all-time? (2024)

Few cities can swallow money faster than Las Vegas. For Super Bowl 58, advertisers will blow roughly $7 million in exactly 30 seconds of ads. Those coveted air times cost around $4 million a decade ago. Approximately 70 ads will air on the biggest night in American sports, generating about $500 million in advertising revenue alone.

Since 79 percent of people see Super Bowl ads as entertainment, corporations go the extra mile to try to deliver Martin Scorsese-esque cinema in half a minute. The average cost to make these capitalistic shorts ranges around $5 million.

However, it appears companies are getting their money’s worth, as consumers spent 641,000 hours watching those ads on YouTube. That represents a 58 percent increase compared to the previous year.

With all that in mind, here are the most expensive ads in Super Bowl history.

Most expensive movie commercial

Jurassic World hits the big game

For the fifth installment of the Jurassic Park franchise, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Universal Pictures dropped $11.9 million in 2018 to whet people’s appetites for 90 seconds.

Nearly $12 million sounds like a lot, but the film's total budget was $432 million, making it the second-most expensive film ever produced. It turned out to be a decent investment, though, as the film went on to gross $1.3 billion worldwide.

Most expensive beer commercial

Bud Light's candid commercial

Bud Light made a splash in 2014 with the most expensive beer commercial in Super Bowl history: $12 million for 60 seconds. It starts with an attractive woman asking a supposedly random man, “If you accept this Bud Light, are you up for whatever happens?”

He says, “Yes”, and the “whatever” turns into Don Cheadle with a llama, Arnold Schwarzenegger playing ping pong with a wig, and twins delivering a night to remember. Bud Light also made the decision to split the commercial into two parts, like Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill.

5. Chrysler goes musical

Nothing like some Bob Dylan to sell some cars

In 2014, Chrysler got a steal at $16 million for 120 seconds of air time. They went with iconic musician Bob Dylan, asking the crucial question: “Is there anything more American than America?”

Well, there’s definitely nothing more American than making $5 million to say things like, “Let Germany brew your beer/Let Switzerland build your watch/Let Asia assemble your phone/We will build your car."

Some people may be surprised by America’s poet laureate making commercials, but Dylan’s got history in the space, having done a General Motors ad in 2007 and another for Victoria’s Secret in 2004.

T-3. Unexpected third-place tie

Ford and 84 Lumber?!

It’s not that surprising that Ford would dole out $16.2 million for a 90-second spot in 2017. But it is interesting how and what they highlighted in that exorbitant 90 seconds. You wouldn’t know it's a Ford commercial for the first 60 seconds, as people struggle with being stuck in seemingly mundane tasks.

Then they show you how the company is making life easier with electric cars, ride-sharing, and bike sharing (?!). It doesn’t appear it was all that effective, since most people probably had no idea Ford even owned a bicycle division.

84 Lumber (huh?) tied Ford with a very confusing commercial showing a mother and daughter’s journey immigrating to America. It’s obviously well shot and edited, but we’re not sure what it has to do with lumber. Perhaps the kid picking up trash along their journey equates to the lumber company helping the environment?

Regardless, they paid boat loads of money, hoping you’d go to their website to see the story’s conclusion and learn what their struggle has to do with good ol' timber.

T-1. Most expensive Super Bowl commercials ever

Tech companies backed up the Brinks truck

Unsurprisingly, it was two tech companies who pulled out the biggest check in Super Bowl advertising history. Right before COVID turned us into hermits in 2020, Google and Amazon dropped a combined $33.6 million for 180 seconds (90 apiece). No one’s lost money faster since the Titanic went down.

The companies also went with very differing techniques. Amazon enlisted Ellen Degeneres and Portia de Rossi to envision a humorous take on what life was like before Alexa. It wasn’t all that funny, but the highlight featured Richard Nixon asking his secretary “Alesha” to delete certain tapes.

Meanwhile, Google took aim at people’s heartstrings with an ad about an elderly man remembering all the times he enjoyed with his late wife.

It’s touching but also very melodramatic when you consider the second most Googled question in 2023 was, “How many weeks are in a year?” It's also slightly concerning to see an AI saying it will remember your memories for you.