Super Bowl 60 isn’t just about touchdowns and halftime shows.
This year’s advertising lineup reveals something fascinating about America’s current health obsession.
Weight loss drugs have officially gone mainstream, claiming prime real estate during one of television’s most expensive advertising events.
With 30-second spots selling for a record-breaking $8-10 million, pharmaceutical and telehealth companies are betting big that 127 million viewers want to hear about GLP-1 medications between plays.
The GLP-1 Bowl Takes Center Stage
Northwestern University marketing professor Tim Calkins captured the moment perfectly.
You could call this the GLP-1 Super Bowl. Often you don’t see a lot from pharmaceutical companies on the Super Bowl, but this year we’re going to see quite a few showing up.
Multiple companies are jumping into the weight loss conversation. Telehealth provider Ro enlisted tennis legend Serena Williams to promote their GLP-1 offerings, while competitor Hims & Hers takes a different approach—highlighting democratized access to treatments traditionally reserved for wealthy individuals.
Even heavyweight pharmaceutical manufacturer Novo Nordisk, creator of Wegovy and Ozempic, teased their own commercial appearance.
Beyond Weight Loss: Health Screening Gets Spotlight
Weight loss medications aren’t the only health products commanding Super Bowl airtime. Two major pharmaceutical companies are promoting diagnostic tests to massive audiences.
Novartis crafted a clever campaign around prostate cancer screening with the tagline “Relax your tight end,” featuring actual NFL tight ends in relaxed settings. Boehringer Ingelheim recruited actresses Octavia Spencer and Sofia Vergara to encourage kidney disease screening.
Liquid I.V., maker of electrolyte drink mixes, also secured advertising space focused on hydration—a wellness trend that continues gaining momentum.
Why Health Companies Are Flooding Football’s Biggest Night
Super Bowl advertising has always reflected which industries hold financial power during any given year. The “Dot-Com Bowl” of 2000 showcased tech startups flush with venture capital. The “Crypto Bowl” of 2022 featured cryptocurrency exchanges riding digital currency hype.
2025 belongs to health and telehealth providers.
NBC sold out advertising inventory back in September, with 30-second spots averaging $8 million and premium placements exceeding $10 million. Peter Lazarus, executive vice president of sports advertising for NBCUniversal, dubbed February “legendary February” thanks to concurrent Olympics and NBA All-Star Game coverage.
Live sporting events represent one of few remaining media properties where advertisers can reach massive, engaged audiences simultaneously—making them invaluable for health companies attempting to normalize conversations around weight loss medications and preventive screening.
Celebrity Power Meets Medical Marketing
Health advertisers aren’t relying solely on scientific credibility. They’re deploying celebrity firepower to connect with viewers emotionally.
Serena Williams brings athletic excellence and body positivity to Ro’s weight loss drug campaign. Spencer and Vergara add warmth and relatability to kidney disease screening messaging. These aren’t coincidental casting choices—they’re strategic attempts to make medical topics feel accessible rather than clinical.
Villanova University marketing professor Charles Taylor noted that given current heavy news cycles—from immigration enforcement to international conflicts—most advertisers will maintain light, entertaining tones.
Because of the Super Bowl’s status as a pop culture event with a fun party atmosphere, the vast majority of brands will avoid any dark or divisive tone and instead allow consumers to escape from thinking about these troubled times.
What This Advertising Shift Reveals About American Health
Pharmaceutical companies traditionally avoided Super Bowl advertising due to strict regulatory requirements around drug promotion. Seeing multiple GLP-1 manufacturers and telehealth platforms willing to spend millions on brief commercials signals several significant developments:
- Mainstream acceptance: Weight loss medications have moved from whispered doctor’s appointments to primetime television
- Market competition: Multiple providers are fighting for consumer attention in an increasingly crowded space
- Telehealth normalization: Remote medical consultations and prescription services have become standard rather than experimental
- Preventive care focus: Screening tests for prostate and kidney conditions demonstrate growing emphasis on early detection
AI, Nostalgia, and Traditional Favorites Round Out Lineup
Health companies share Super Bowl airtime with technology firms showcasing AI capabilities. Oakley Meta promotes AI-enabled glasses through Spike Lee and Marshawn Lynch. OpenAI scheduled yet-to-be-revealed advertising. Svedka Vodka even partnered with AI studio Silverside to reimagine their robot mascot.
Sara Saunders, chief marketing officer at Sazerac, explained their AI approach.
We reimagined the robot via AI. It took us many, many months to rebuild her, to give her functionality, to give her that human spirit that we wanted to show up on behalf of the brand.
Traditional advertisers maintain presence too. Budweiser celebrated their 150th anniversary with Clydesdales and bald eagles set to Lynyrd Skynyrd. Pepsi reignited cola wars by featuring Coca-Cola’s polar bear mascots choosing Pepsi Zero Sugar. Xfinity reunited Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum for Jurassic Park nostalgia.
Record Viewership Drives Unprecedented Demand
Last year’s Super Bowl attracted 127.7 million U.S. viewers across television and streaming platforms—a record that health companies clearly want to capture. With media increasingly fragmented across countless platforms and services, live sports remain rare opportunities for advertisers to reach enormous audiences simultaneously.
Seventy percent of Super Bowl advertisers also purchased Olympics coverage, while 40% bought across all major NBC sports properties. This multi-platform approach allows health companies to reinforce messaging beyond single game-day exposure.
Whether viewers remember specific brand names after Sunday remains uncertain. What’s clear: health companies believe Super Bowl 60 represents their moment to reshape public conversations around weight loss, preventive screening, and accessible medical care—one $10 million commercial at a time.