How Much Money Celebrities Get To Star In Super Bowl Commercials
Celebrity involvement is a surefire way for a Super Bowl commercial to earn attention. Bonus points if said celebrity makes some kind of self-aware joke about whatever they're famous for. This trend was on full display for Super Bowl LVIII, where, for instance, Martin Scorsese popped up in a commercial for Squarespace while "Twins" stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito reunited for a State Farm ad. Plenty of ads crammed their runtime with famous faces, such as Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Matt Damon, Tom Brady, and Fat Joe repping Dunkin'. It begs the question: how much are these stars making?
The answer is quite a lot. The Hollywood Reporter wrote that big stars can make anywhere between $10 and $15 million for an ad spot, which typically translates to maybe a couple of days of work. Combined with the fact CBS charges $7 million for a 30-second spot, a company can end up spending a ton of money to air a commercial during the big game. Just look at Jennifer Aniston's Uber Eats commercial for Super Bowl LVIII, which also features David Schwimmer, Usher, Victoria and David Beckham, and Jelly Roll. Something like that could easily set a brand back by around $50 million.
That's a lot of money to air a commercial once. But what kind of return on investment can companies expect with that kind of dough?
Dunkin' saw great success after Ben Affleck's 2023 Super Bowl ad
Dunkin' will have to sell a whole lot of donuts to recoup its costs if it's spending up to $50 million for an ad featuring Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and a bunch of other A-listers. No matter how hilarious it might've been, one has to think of the bottom line. And Dunkin' seemingly has good reason for believing continuing its partnership with Affleck will lead to dividends down the road.
Affleck has starred in a few commercials for Dunkin', including one that played during 2023's Super Bowl in which Affleck is working at a drive-thru when Jennifer Lopez pulls up. The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the actor made $10 million for the gig, and the commercial was also made through Affleck's production company — Artists Equity. It was a steep investment, but Dunkin' president Scott Murphy told Entrepreneur, "We ran it once and got 7 billion media impressions, and it kind of kickstarted the year." That's impressive as is, but there's additional data to consider. Murphy continued that the ad did well with the older crowd, so to appeal to the younger generation, Dunkin' later did an ad spot that had the "Air" actor with rapper Ice Spice.
With that kind of reach, it's no wonder Dunkin' and other companies invest heavily in Super Bowl commercials. It's a surefire way to get a product seen by millions of people. And when people are wondering where to go for coffee the following morning following the big game, Dunkin' will surely be on many people's minds.