In the longest Super Bowl in history, the Chiefs overcame the 49ers to win their third “big game.” But who else has reason to celebrate?
We looked at social data to see all the winners from this year's Super Bowl. Read on for the most mentioned brands, celebrities, and reactions online.
Note on methodology: All data was collected from 3:30pm PST to 8pm PST, which is roughly the time frame of Super Bowl LVIII. All data comes from public social posts, blogs, forums, and online news mentioning the Super Bowl.
Most talked about moments
What were the most talked about moments? There was a lot of chatter. Over 500k accounts contributed to an overall total of 2.65m posts during the game. That's a whopping 11k mentions per minute.
Unsurprisingly, the Chiefs' win over the 49ers generated the highest peak in online conversation around the Super Bowl. With a 25-22 victory, the Chiefs took home the Super Bowl win for the third time in five seasons, and fans were keen to celebrate online.
Usher's halftime show performance caused the second-highest peak. The singer invited Alicia Keys, Ludacris, Lil Jon, will.i.am, and HER to his show and performed his greatest hits from his 30-year music career.
The arrival of the Swifties
This Super Bowl game was a little different from previous editions in that it's impossible to talk about the Super Bowl 2024 without talking about Taylor Swift. The famous singer joined the Super Bowl game to cheer on her boyfriend Travis Kelce, a player for the Chiefs.
During the game, the singer was mentioned over 148k times, with online conversations peaking at the end of the game as the Chiefs celebrated their victory, including Taylor and Travis. 5.6% of all Super Bowl mentions this year talked about Taylor Swift. In comparison, Travis Kelce is the most mentioned player but only got around 30k mentions, representing 1.1% of all Super Bowl mentions.
With Swifties watching the game to see their star in attendance, the Super Bowl offered an opportunity for brands to advertise to a new audience. This Super Bowl saw an uptick in beauty brands running ads to capture the attention of the female audience. Brands such as Dove, NYX Professional Makeup and e.l.f cosmetics ran ads, banking on the Taylor Swift effect. Dove returned to the Super Bowl for the first time in 18 years, NYX Professional Makeup made their Super Bowl ad debut, and e.l.f cosmetics got back for their second time.
Which brands “won” the Super Bowl?
This year, it wasn’t one brand that won the Super Bowl ad game, but two. While the first was mentioned more than 33,000 times during the game, the second was mentioned nearly 32,000 times. They dominated the online conversation, but for different reasons.
The brand that ran an ad during Super Bowl 2024 that was talked about more than any other is Temu. The online marketplace brand ran their ad multiple times during the game and their strategy resulted in over 33,000 mentions.
The 30-second spot with the catchy slogan "Shop like a billionaire" got people talking. Considering that a 30-second ad in the Super Bowl costs $7 million, Temu got viewers thinking about how much money they invested in the Super Bowl and how many orders they will get from their ad.
Out of all the branded and advertised conversations during the Super Bowl, Temu garnered an astounding 32%, making them the winning brand.
Verizon was a close second with 32,000 mentions. While Temu released their ad early, Verizon was cryptic until the game, releasing only teasers and leaving viewers wondering who will appear in the Super Bowl ad. On game night, viewers went wild when the ad featured superstar Beyoncé announcing her upcoming album.
In the commercial, Beyoncé competes with comedian Tony Hale to break Verizon's internet. From dressing up as Barbie to performing in space, she wasn't able to break Verizon, but she did leave her fans happy by announcing her new album at the end of the commercial.
Verizon's strategy to team up with one of the most famous singers paid off. With nearly 32,000 mentions, the brand was the second most talked about during Super Bowl LVIII. Verizon also secured by far the highest peak in online ad conversations, with over 2,500 mentions in one minute.
Top mentioned celebrities appearing in ads
There was one star who dominated the online conversation. Out of more than 98,000 mentions discussing celebrities, she garnered an astounding 75%.
We are talking about Beyoncé, of course.
Her announcement with Verizon was one of the most discussed moments of the Super Bowl, and with over 75,000 mentions, she is the clear winner in the celebrity ranking. At its peak, she was mentioned 3,000 times per minute.
In second place is Carl Weathers. The recently deceased actor, best known for his role in the Rocky films, appeared in a FanDuel commercial with Rob Gronkowski. Before his acting career, he played two seasons in the NFL. After his death, FanDuel edited the ad to honor the actor and viewers were touched by the commercial.
Lessons for marketers
The Super Bowl remains a huge opportunity for brands to connect with consumers. Not only is it one of the most watched live events in the world, the impact of a well-made Super Bowl activation can do wonders before and long after the game.
Temu releasing their ad early allowed them to garner excitement well ahead of the game as well as during the ads. Meanwhile, Verizon's surprise collaboration with Beyoncé will continue to be referenced in the coming weeks.
Savvy brands saw the opportunity in Taylor Swift fans watching the game and advertising to an audience they don't normally reach at the Super Bowl. According to a survey by LendingTree, 24% of Gen Z and 20% of Millennials in the US are more interested in football because of Taylor Swift. Two beauty brands, CeraVe and Dove, made the top 10 most mentioned ads online, suggesting their strategy of targeting Taylor Swift fans paid off.
