With as high as a twenty-seven percent increase for a 30-second spot, as well as an influx of new advertisers, the answer appears to be: yes.

NBC, which holds the exclusive broadcast rights for Super Bowl 2022, asked as much as $6.5 million for a 30-second in-game ad, up from 2021 when CBS was seeking around $5.6 million per 30 seconds. In-game inventory was nearly sold out by July, which was earlier than usual (typically September).

As of early last week, all Super Bowl inventory via NBC (its affiliates and Peacock streaming) was sold out, with costs for a 30-second spot peaking at $7.1 million. NBC said it will air an estimated 70 in-game spots, which is about the same as in previous years, with more than 30 new advertisers participating in the big event.

New advertisers in the tech, services and retail industries affirms the long-held belief that advertising around the Super Bowl is a way for unknown brands to get noticed. For those looking to avoid the hefty price tag of a Super Bowl spot, marketers are looking for ways to get consumers’ attention during the event without having to run advertising during the game itself. Brands are turning to social, the metaverse and, yes, even NFTs in hopes of crashing the big game.

According to Digiday, “… brands like Miller Lite (the beermaker is using a metaverse bar to get around Anheuser-Busch’s category hold on Big Game sponsorship), Animal Planet (the network is giving out NFTs for the Puppy Bowl) and Frank’s Hot Sauce (the CPG brand is touting an “edible” NFT for the Super Bowl), among others, are leaning on the metaverse and NFTs to hack their way into Big Game advertising without paying the cost of a Super Bowl spot …”