What Travel Companies Are Advertising During the 2023 Super Bowl?
by Daniel McCarthy /The Super Bowl isn’t just the biggest game for the NFL and football fans, but it’s also the most hyped, and high-priced, time of the year for advertisers.
For 2023, a number of heavy hitters have confirmed ad placements during Sunday’s Big Game, including the likes of Pringles, DraftKings, M&Ms, Avocados from Mexico, Doritos, Pepsi, GM, Budweiser, and more all paying a reported $7 million for 30-seconds of ad time. But what about travel companies?
In the past, the game’s audience has been treated to some iconic travel or tourism-related ads including the 2018 spot with Chris Hemsworth and Danny McBride for Tourism Australia, or the 2021 Alaska Airlines “Safety Dance” ad.
For travel advisors on the lookout for what their clients might be inspired for during Super Bowl LVII, here’s what can be confirmed so far:
Booking.com
Amsterdam-based OTA Booking.com will also run an ad for its services during the Super Bowl.
Booking’s ad will be led by Melissa McCarthy, singing her way through potential vacation destinations from the slopes to a spa to an all-inclusive. A teaser has already been released:
Uber
While not a traditional travel supplier, Uber is still a major part of so many consumers’ vacations and will have a big presence during this year’s Super Bowl, the third straight year it has done so.
Uber’s ad calls on Sean Combs aka P Diddy to make a hit jingle for its Uber One program, the company’s higher-level membership service that offers better pricing, premium support, and additional parks.
The ad brings in a ton of past pop culture references, including nods to some past music hits including Donna Lewis’ I Love You Always Forever and Haddaway’s What Is Love.
The ad is already available to watch below:
Carnival Cruise Line
A spokesperson from Carnival Cruise Line confirmed to TMR that the cruise line will be running a 30-second Choose Fun Together ad centered on family vacations on the NFL’s stream. Everyone who watches the stream nationally in the U.S. will see the spot.
The ad is part of its new Choose Fun Together brand campaign that launched on Christmas Day for Wave Season and can be seen below:
Priceline
Another OTA, Priceline is launching its new marketing campaign this week with an ad airing just before Super Bowl kickoff as its centerpiece.
The campaign is titled Go To Your Happy Price and features Kaley Cuoco, who starred in the Big Bang Theory, trying to convince her colleagues to take an affordable vacation. Here’s Cuoco in one of Priceline’s 30-second spots:
United Airlines
United Airlines is now airing a national ad during the Super Bowl, according to AdAge. However, the carrier will air a local 30-second spot in some Colorado markets, focusing on its on-time holiday performance.
Travel advisors might remember that, during Southwest’s holiday meltdown, Denver International was one of the hardest hit airports, so while United’s “An airline built for Denver” ad might not mention Southwest by name, it’s point is clear—United was able to avoid the troubles Southwest ran into in December.
Southwest has already been the subject of a Saturday Night Live sketch due to that holiday meltdown.
Disney
So far, nothing has been confirmed for Disney Park spots during the Super Bowl. However, Deadline is reporting that Disney could air up to six different ads for its upcoming slate of movies including Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The Little Mermaid, Pixar’s Elemental, and possibly Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.