Super Bowl Commercials 2020: Final Expectations for Top Ads, Movie Trailers

Super Bowl LIV won't simply be a football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers. It will be that, of course, but it will also be perhaps the biggest media event of the year. Last year's title game was a disappointment in terms of ratings and still drew more than 98 million viewers.

When the Chiefs and 49ers kick off at 6:30 p.m. ET, much of the world will be watching. Advertisers are well aware of this and quite often unveil their biggest commercials and movie trailers during the game. In recent years, many viewers have tuned in for the commercials themselves as much as for the game.

While Super Bowl commercials may be humorous, dramatic, star-filled or innovative, most are entertaining and memorable. Given the price tag to air them, they had better be.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the cost of a 30-second ad this year is $5.6 million, up from $5.25 million in 2019.

This year's broadcast may feature few movie trailers, which isn't surprising. With release dates being announced months and often years in advance, many studios would prefer to play the long game when it comes to advertising rather than shelling out to run a 30-second teaser.

Disney, Universal and Paramount

According to Pamela McClintock of The Hollywood Reporter, only Disney and Universal will run ads during the game broadcast this year.

Universal will run ads for Fast & Furious 9 and Minions: The Rise of Gru. While there isn't any clear information on which movies Disney will advertise, candidates include the live-action Mulan remake, Black Widow and Soul.

Per McClintock, Paramount will air advertisements for A Quiet Place II, Sonic the Hedgehog and SpongeBob the Movie: Sponge on the Run during the pregame broadcast.

Here's a look at some of the other top ads for Super Bowl Sunday, per Ad Age.

McDonald's

During the pregame portion of the broadcast, McDonald's is expected to run a 30-second ad featuring the "famous orders" of celebrities and fictional characters. 49ers and Chiefs fans may take a special delight in seeing the favorite orders of Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.

For fans who want to take a sneak peek, McDonald's has posted this one early:

Walmart

Walmart went all-out to promote its pickup service. In a literal out-of-this-world advertisement, popular sci-fi characters make an appearance to get their grocery and goods orders.

Characters include Bill from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Frank the pug from the Men in Black franchise, Marvin the Martian and C-3PO and R2D2. Even the Starship Enterprise makes an appearance!

A longer, nearly two-minute cut of the commercial is available on YouTube.

Bud Light Seltzer

Veterans of the Super Bowl advertising game, Anheuser-Busch let the fans do the decision-making this time. Two commercials featuring rapper Post Malone were created to advertise Bud Light Seltzer, and fans were given the opportunity to vote on which should air during the championship broadcast.

"It feels cool to be in a Bud Light commercial, especially a Bud Light Super Bowl commercial, which is a huge deal," Post Malone said, via the Anheuser-Busch official site. "I just love the taste and the camaraderie. So it's a real honor and blessing for me to be able to be a part of such a big moment."

Fans will find out Sunday which commercial got the nod.

Michelob Ultra

If Seltzer isn't your thing, you might appreciate Anheuser-Busch's ad for Michelob Ultra. This one is a fitness-themed commercial, which plays off Michelob Ultra's status as an "ultra light" beer.

The ad will feature the likes of Jimmy Fallon, John Cena, Usain Bolt, Kerri Walsh Jennings and Brooke Sweat.

While drinking Michelob Ultra might not have helped Fallon get in shape, filming the commercial apparently did.

"I lost 10 pounds doing the commercial," Fallon said on Today (h/t Zee Krstic of GoodHousekeeping.com).

Microsoft

Microsoft is expected to run a 60-second ad focusing on 49ers assistant Katie Sowers, who on Sunday, will become the first-ever female to coach in the Super Bowl.

Many NFL fans are familiar with Sowers, who began her NFL career with the Atlanta Falcons in 2016 then followed Kyle Shanahan to San Francisco. For more casual fans, however, this should serve as a nice introduction to her story.

"Being the first female in the Super Bowl, it's surreal," Sowers said, per ESPN's Nick Wagoner. "It really is. But what I want to continue to say is that even though I'm the first, the most important thing is I'm not the last."

Doritos

Doritos will air an ad for its Cool Ranch flavor chips that features a dance-off between rapper Lil Nas X and actor Sam Elliott. It features the Grammy-winning song "Old Town Road" and a cameo from Billy Ray Cyrus.

This is another one that fans can check out early: