Super Bowl to Feature Trump, Bloomberg and Corporate America Battling for Attention

When the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs face off at the National Football League’s Super Bowl LIV in Miami on Sunday, billionaire presidential candidates will battle for attention while big brands bearing positive messages hope to bring balance to the divisive political atmosphere.

President 👤Donald Trump and Democratic presidential hopeful 💼Michael Bloomberg are spending $10 million each to appeal directly to voters watching the big game, an unprecedented event in Super Bowl history. Their presence threatens to suck the oxygen out of the biggest televised event of the year in America when close to 100 million U.S. viewers tune in.

This year, brands are spending a record high of up to $5.6 million for a 30-second commercial, marketing experts said.

To shield brands from the political fray — the Bloomberg campaign has said it planned to run an attack ad during the Super Bowl — Fox Corp plans to isolate both ads and surround them with in-house promotions for its shows, according to a person familiar with the matter. AdAge first reported on Fox’s plans.

The marketing world is seeing a breaking down of boundaries between ads and politics, said Christie Nordhielm, a professor of marketing at Georgetown University.

“No network wants to have political ads on when people are trying to be entertained, but no network will turn down $5.6 million either,” she said, adding the campaign commercials will be a “downer” on the viewer experience.

Trump and Bloomberg’s debut at the games could hurt other advertisers, as politically polarized American viewers focus on the campaign ads. “That’s distracting from the other ads,” said Charles Taylor, a professor of marketing at Villanova University.

Big brands plan to neutralize or avoid the tense atmosphere by pushing positive social causes. Equality, environmental conservation and helping youths are among the themes that will dominate the airwaves.