Inclusion Trends In This Year’s Super Bowl Ads

Inclusive marketing has always been a smart growth strategy. When done effectively, it increases revenue. Brands who do it grow a larger and more loyal customers base by converting consumers with identities that are often underrepresented and underserved. Marketing inclusively has become even more relevant as the population shifts, with more people having identities that make them fall outside the traditional thinking of who qualifies as “general market.”

Shift in Diversity and Representation

Since 2021, there’s been an increase in diversity and representation of people from underrepresented and underserved communities in Super Bowl ads. The change came largely in response to brands reacting to the murder of George Floyd in May 2020.

However, since the summer of 2024, more brands have started to roll back their diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, in response to pressure from conservative groups. And since the start of President’s Trump’s second stint in the Oval office, more brands have started to cut their diversity efforts as well.

Inclusion Trends In This Year’s Super Bowl Ads

For the talent featured in Super Bowl ads, there was a decrease in overall representation from a race and ethnicity standpoint. One study from XR Extreme Reach showed that ads for this year’s big game had a 41% decrease in spots that showed people with darker skin tones since the 2023 Super Bowl.

The XR Extreme Reach report showcased that 69% of ads featured someone with a light skin tone. There were a number of ads that only featured White men, or the main characters were primarily White. In many instances, this was due to the use of celebrities, including a slew of actors. But there were other instances where, the talent selected weren’t famous, and also featured a cast that with “light” skin tones.

Representation of People with Different Skin Tones

Because there was an increase in ads that featured people with lighter skin tones, there were less ads that featured people with darker skin tones. In particular, Black women were largely absent from the ads featured, with the exception of Issa Rae, with TurboTax, Wanda Sykes, for Novartis, and another woman who appeared in the Hexclad ad with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.

The XR Extreme Research report also showed a decrease in medium skin complexion paid talent for the Super Bowl ads, down from a high achieved in 2024. Singer Bad Bunny’s appearance in the Ritz commercial was a notable standout in that area.

Brands That Did a Good Job with Inclusion

There were a few promotions that did a good job with intentional inclusion of people with different identities, including across skin tones, including Nike, the NFL, and Novartis.

Conclusion

While diversity and representation of people with medium and dark skin tones decreased from previous years with the Super Bowl ads, the XR Extreme Research report showed there were increases in ads with a feminine gender expression, which brings the collection of campaigns overall closer to gender parity, with women represented in 44% of ads. The analysis also showed a three-fold increase in talent with visible disabilities, and an increase in ads that featured seniors.

There are many dimensions of diversity. And the ads featured in this year’s Super Bowl signal that brands are moving away from prioritizing representation from a race and ethnicity standpoint, and leaning more heavily into other dimensions of inclusion.

FAQs

Q: What happened to the diversity and representation of people from underrepresented and underserved communities in Super Bowl ads?

A: There was a 41% decrease in spots that showed people with darker skin tones since the 2023 Super Bowl.

Q: What happened to the representation of people with medium skin tones?

A: There was a decrease in medium skin complexion paid talent for the Super Bowl ads, down from a high achieved in 2024.

Q: Which brands did a good job with inclusion in their Super Bowl ads?

A: Nike, the NFL, and Novartis were a few promotions that did a good job with intentional inclusion of people with different identities, including across skin tones.

Q: What are the implications of brands’ decisions on diversity and representation for consumer buying behavior?

A: The choices you make as a brand influence how consumers respond. Choosing to focus on specific identities often leads consumers from those communities to buy from you. Choosing to ignore or decrease focus on other identities lends itself to people who are part of those communities seeking to buy from the brands who choose to represent and serve them instead.