Affiliate marketing has grown up. The new report from impact.com breaks down the five pillars of partner sophistication, shows how top teams measure creator performance with precision, and explains what actually drives revenue beyond the first click. Read the report.
There was no shortage of celebrity talent in this year’s Super Bowl campaigns, but the same could also be said for creator talent, both in ads and online.
“[Brands are] definitely integrating influencers into their full marketing strategy around the Super Bowl more than ever,” Emily Brown, associate director of strategy at influencer marketing agency Billion Dollar Boy, told us.
So where exactly did we see creators at the big game this year?
On the small screen: It’s become increasingly common in the last five-plus years for brands to cast creators like Charli D’Amelio, Addison Rae, and Alix Earle as the leads in their Super Bowl ads, and that trend showed no signs of slowing down this year, with cameos like:
- Salesforce putting MrBeast front and center in an ad presumably targeted to 12-year-old SaaS experts.
- Poppi casting creator-turned-actor Rachel Sennott to party for “vibes” alongside Charli xcx.
- Amelia Dimoldenberg and Addison Rae making bleacher appearances in versions No. 314 and No. 1,049, respectively, of Uber Eats’s ad.
Other creators made more subtle, IYKYK-type cameos:
- T-Mobile’s ad featured a cameo from Druski, the brand’s “chief switching officer,” as part of a crowd of rabid Backstreet Boys fans.
- Kinder Bueno cast Bravo star and internet personality Paige DeSorbo in a mission control center role.
- Meta and Oakley’s spot featured Darren Watkins Jr., known as IShowSpeed, wearing
surveillanceAI glasses. - Hellmann’s cast food influencer Keith Lee as a background diner-goer as Andy Samberg performed “Sweet Sandwich Time.”
Overall, Brown said she was surprised at how many creators made appearances during the in-game ads. There was a strong Gen X and boomer presence among the celebrity talent—Jennifer Aniston, Jason Alexander, George Clooney…even Nerds opted for Andy Cohen this year after working with Addison Rae in 2024—but Brown said she felt there was a “healthy mix” of younger and older talent considering the creator presence onscreen and online.
Reporting live: While Alix Earle wasn’t in an ad this year after being in two last year for Poppi and Carl’s Jr., she wasn’t entirely absent from the broadcast, making a cameo during Bad Bunny’s halftime show. She also traveled to the game and posted content on behalf of restaurant chain Raising Cane’s, which Brown said was one online campaign that stood out.
“She was able to really naturally integrate Cane’s into her content, like she was doing ‘get ready with me for the Super Bowl’ and she just happened to be wearing a vintage football-looking Raising Cane’s sweatshirt,’” Brown said. “That’s definitely something that me and my team have been discussing in terms of very authentic, organic content.”
Overall, Brown noted how many brands chose to turn the Super Bowl into a creator trip. Vita Coco brought creator Romeo Bingham, who came up with the brand’s latest jingle, to what it called the “Romeo Bowl.” Olipop teamed up with Cocokind to fly out customers as part of a fan trip. Microsoft Copilot partnered with creator Brigette Pheloung, known as Acquired Style, who flew out to the game with her sister.
“Being able to integrate creators helps [newer brands] stand out among those old-hat brands that are playing it safe with traditional Super Bowl apps,” Brown said.
With other big sporting events like the Olympics and the World Cup happening and on the horizon, Brown said she expects to see even more creator appearances in ads and on the scene.
“Brands are really leaning into the influencer trip, to make the whole Super Bowl weekend a part of that,” she said.
Read the full article here
