Multiple-channel executions and Canadiana, are key to generating interest during the Super Bowl, according to the president of Kantar Canada.

Scott Megginson tells strategy that data from last year’s Super Bowl showed a three-fold increase in effectiveness of five-channel activations compared with one-channel and that big-game ads are, generally, 25 times more effective than typical TV spots, especially when paired with complementary tactics.

“It’s a matter of leveraging all the pieces,” Megginson says. “The TV is great in the moment, nothing will attract people like the Super Bowl, FIFA World Cup, [and] the Olympics, will be huge … [but] the magic comes from social, creator community – everything amplifying at the same time.”

The ROI is immense, he says, with a roughly eight-to-one return on spend tracked stateside.

However, brands shouldn’t rely on mass awareness alone. Consistent, authentic messaging across different touch points on the Super Bowl stage is often rewarded by increasingly skeptical consumers. Megginson says “lift-and-shift” content from the U.S considerably underperforms and that Canadian advertisers should consider cultural nuances and tone with the “Elbows Up” movement continuing to hold some sway.

As an example, last year’s “Good Old Football Game” spot by Tim Hortons captured the cultural moment in a clever and humorous way. The result was one of the best-ever tested ads by Kantar. Megginson says Aylmer Soup’s online-only U.S. tariff spit take spot was also wildly popular.

What has proven less popular, however, is celebrity, especially those of the American variety who hold less cultural sway north of the border.

“The ads will get the eyeballs, but again, our point of view is that we really need to make sure they have the right quality to have the right impact on your brand.”

Megginson says the use of artificial intelligence is also potentially problematic, adding that the best executions will lean into human-led creative strategy.

As reported in Media in Canada, for the third consecutive year in 2025, telecom services had the biggest Super Bowl advertising presence with an 18.5% share, followed by wealth-management services (12.6%) and the restaurant sector (9%).

Still, Megginson says the spectacle represents opportunities for brands across categories and can give emerging brands a big boost, especially with viewership diversifying as a holdover from the Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce effect. A report in Sports Business Journal said women made up close to 48% of the total audience in 2025 as Kelce’s Kansas City played Philadelphia, with the 59 million female viewers representing a 9% spike over 2024. N Logic data solutions showed that female viewers made up 45% of last year’s Super Bowl audience in Canada.