With the lingering threat of COVID, do Americans think Super Bowl LVI can safely proceed?

Rewind one year to Super Bowl 2021. The Raymond James Stadium in Tampa was largely empty with only 25,000 fans in attendance due to COVID capacity restrictions. COVID-19 vaccines were rare, with just a small number of healthcare professionals vaccinated (7,500 of whom were awarded tickets into the Super Bowl stadium).

Fast forward to February 2022. We are still dealing with COVID – this time in the form of the highly transmissible Omicron variant. Many areas have mask mandates, and some big cities require proof of vaccination to enter restaurants, gyms, and other indoor places of entertainment. With all the uncertainty, how are Americans feeling about COVID safety at this year’s Super Bowl?

Los Angeles expects a surge of visitors

It has been estimated that Super Bowl LVI will attract approximately 150,000 out-of-town guests to Los Angeles. Without the capacity restrictions of 2021, SoFi stadium’s 70,240 seats are completely sold out, a nearly threefold increase from last year’s 25,000 attendees.

While the NFL Players Association has cancelled many of its Super Bowl events to prevent the spread of Omicron, many other concerts, parties, and in-person events are expected to proceed. Scheduled events include some perennial favorites, such as the Super Bowl Gameday Fan Plaza and Players Tailgate.

Americans are cautiously optimistic that the Big Game can be safe

According to a recent Harris Poll study, COVID greatly influenced Americans’ Super Bowl plans last year. Over half (55%) of people who watched the 2021 Super Bowl said that the COVID-19 situation was either somewhat or very influential on their Super Bowl LV plans. This could explain why over half of people who watched the Super Bowl (51%) reported that they watched the game alone or just with members of their immediate household, instead of in large gatherings (8%).

This year, many Americans are optimistic that the Super Bowl can safely proceed. Out of all US respondents, 66% agree that there are enough COVID-19 safety precautions in place to keep participants (e.g., players, coaches, referees) safe. Only 12% strongly disagree that this year’s safety precautions can keep participants safe.

Sixty-three percent of US respondents agree that there are enough COVID-19 safety precautions in place to keep Super Bowl attendees safe. Millennials are the most confident, with 75% of Millennial respondents agreeing that safety precautions can keep attendees safe. Younger attendees may feel the most secure given that COVID’s negative effects tend to disproportionately affect older persons.

Should Super Bowl commercials discuss COVID?

Americans are evenly divided as to whether advertising brands should discuss the current COVID situation (e.g., infection rates, promoting the vaccine) during their Super Bowl commercials. Fifty-two percent of US respondents agree that brands should discuss the COVID situation in their ads, versus 48% of respondents who disagree.

Check back after the Big Game for more about this year’s commercials

After Super Bowl LVI wraps up, we will be publishing our second annual Brand Bowl report!

Check back to see how this year’s lineup of commercials perform. Using data from Harris Brand Platform, our report will determine which advertisers’ efforts were most effective at growing their brands’ equity scores (the perceived value of a company based on its reputation), and which may want to go back to the creative drawing board before next year’s Super Bowl!

Revisit last year’s Brand Bowl report! Ahead of this year’s report, see what worked for the advertisers of 2021 with our first annual Brand Bowl.

Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll during January 28-31, 2022, among 1,127 US adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region, and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online. For more information, please contact Madelyn Franz or Andrew Laningham.