We challenge all of these advertisers to skim the nonprofits below and think about
diverting even $1M of their game-time spend to instead address urgent social
issues.
Seven million dollars can do a world of good, especially when those funds
are put to work by nonprofit organizations. The same amount of money can also
put a talking cat or a low-carb beer in front of hundreds of millions of viewers
in between touchdowns — for just 30 seconds. While some of these ads will break
through and become hot topics on social media, most will ultimately be
forgotten. Imagine if those brands did something more impactful — like applying
their dollars and creativity to a social issue that’s aligned with their brand.
Or what if they developed a sustained initiative to make a transformative
difference for nonprofit organizations and their beneficiaries?
Surprisingly, inflation didn’t touch the cost of Super Bowl airtime this year. A
30-second slot will cost advertisers the same as last
year:
$7
million, or $233,333 per
second.
(That’s 200 percent
more
than the same advertising spot cost 20 years ago, and a staggering 16,371
percent
increase
since the big game’s inception in 1967.) After factoring in creative, production
and talent costs, the total tab can rise to $10 million or more. Some brands
are even capturing the Super Bowl “buzz” without investing in actual airtime,
reports
Digiday
— but are also spending millions of dollars to do so.
We challenge all these advertisers — whether they invest in primetime, digital,
IRL or social visibility — to skim the nonprofits below and think about
diverting even a million dollars of their gametime spend to address urgent
social issues. (As a stark example, less than half of what the US public is
expected to bet on the Super Bowl this year — $23.1
billion
— would fully fund the hunger-related appeals of the 17 countries covered in
Action Against Hunger’s 2024 Hunger Funding Gap Report!)
This year, we asked some of our favorite and most respected nonprofit organizations what they could do with the transformative power of $7 million. Here’s what they shared.
-
Action Against Hunger could
treat more than 46,600 children facing life-threatening malnutrition.
-
Aligning Value Management and Regenerative Practices
Join us as Regenovate co-founders Chris Grantham and Adam Lusby lead an interactive workshop on how to rethink value in the context of regenerative innovation by linking value to the dividends and resilience that come to an organization from enhancing system health — Thurs, May 9, at Brand-Led Culture Change.
ALS Association could advance two-to-three new
treatments into clinical trials to provide hope for a fatal disease with no
cure, as well as developing four-to-five new ALS clinics to treat people
living with ALS.
-
American Heart Association could fund more
than 200 scholarships to advance research and healthcare careers for diverse
students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and at
Hispanic-Serving Institutions.
-
American Lung Association could
provide Courage Kits and one-on-one mentorship to 70,000 newly diagnosed
lung cancer patients through its LUNG FORCE
initiative.
-
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
could match more than 4,600 at-risk youth with a reliable mentor or positive
role model.
-
Empower the People could help close
the civic-opportunity gap for 700 youth face-to-face, and 60,000 students
virtually each year, for 94 years.
-
Feeding America and
No Kid
Hungry could
provide 70 million meals to those experiencing food insecurity through their
food bank network. (PS: Don’t miss the Feeding America appearance in
Hellmann’s "Mayo Cat" ad — a contender for one of the year’s most memorable spots.)
-
Green Bronx Machine could deliver
1,000 K-12+ indoor gardening programs, enabling students to grow, eat and
love their vegetables, reaching 1 million students and 85,000 teachers.
-
Habitat for Humanity could upgrade 1,166
homes with energy-efficiency grants or add solar panel solutions to 350
homes.
-
Planned Parenthood could more than
double its research capacity — accelerating efforts to break down barriers
to increase access to sexual and reproductive healthcare.
-
RAIIN could educate 4.2 billion people about
preventing sexual violence.
-
Save the Children could educate
400,000 children in the US living in poverty.
-
Shatterproof could expand the
Shatterproof Treatment Atlas across the United States to guide 49 million
people struggling with substance-use disorder to the right type of quality
addiction treatment or expand work to reduce addiction stigma across the US
— especially with healthcare professionals.
-
Soles 4 Souls could give new sneakers to
350,000 kids experiencing homelessness.
-
USO could help around 280,000 service members
transition into civilian communities each year.
What could your organization achieve — or help your nonprofit partners achieve —
with $7 million? We’d love to hear. Share your ideas with us on
LinkedIn.
Published Feb 9, 2024 2pm EST / 11am PST / 7pm GMT / 8pm CET
CEO
Carol is internationally recognized for her work in Purpose and CSR. Carol Cone ON PURPOSE is the return to her entrepreneurial roots and life’s passion: to educate, inspire and accelerate purpose programs and impacts for organizations, nonprofits and individuals around the globe.