Twitter: The Online Winners of Super Bowl LVI
On social media, it was hard to ignore the vast influence of Super Bowl LVI. The 56th instalment of American Football’s showpiece event was the most-watched in five years, drawing in 167 million viewers in America alone. It was also the most-streamed Super Bowl of all time, as a must-see moment in the year’s sporting calendar became more accessible than ever before.
With the eyes of the world on California’s SoFi Stadium, the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals did not disappoint. The game was a nailbiter, with three lead changes throughout a tense four quarters. In the end, however, it was the Rams who came back to claim victory in their home stadium, thanks to a last-ditch touchdown from Cooper Kupp (the game’s eventual MVP), who became an overnight sensation.
With an A-list celebrity cast in attendance - and the halftime show to match - Super Bowl LVI became an instant classic.
But whilst Odell Beckham Jr (whose tearful reaction to his team’s triumph became an instant meme) & Co. were the ones celebrating with the Lombardi Trophy, the world of social media had its own fair share of winners. Nowadays, what happens off the field is almost as important as what happens on it, as the self-proclaimed ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ sparks conversation and engagement all across our favourite platforms. But as always, there was one that reigned supreme.
Twitter has been the Super Bowl’s MVP for years - and 2022 was no different. The go-to platform for minute-by-minute commentary and live reaction surrounding any sporting event has seen Twitter establish a reputation for being the home of sports on social media. It’s an undisputed dynasty that even Tom Brady would be proud of.
But this year, they took it up a notch.
The ideal for any fan, watching along from the comfort of their own home, is to feel like they’re a part of the arena. So that’s exactly what Twitter offered. Teaming up with the NFL, Twitter asked users to send in their “‘wildest” six-word Super Bowl predictions, before displaying their favourites on the LED roof of the SoFi Arena.
It looked, in short, incredible. We think it’s pretty awesome.
All sorts of predictions were made, with many of them popping up across the roof that spans one million square feet. There were, of course, plenty who got it right. Twitter made a special effort to shout-out all of those who correctly called different moments of the game with a post-match video.
Twitter has a pretty long and storied relationship with the NFL, renewing their long-term partnership in June 2021 (in case you were wondering why they were getting all this special treatment). So their cutesy relationship is nothing new. Last year, at Super Bowl LIV, real Tweets were printed onto the confetti that rained down from the stands as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrated their victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. A nice touch, especially at a time when fans weren’t in attendance due to the pandemic.
The partnership also saw the world’s biggest American Football league venture into the world of live audio last year. After initially checking-in with Clubhouse, NFL made the switch to Twitter Spaces ahead of the 2021 season. In what was a huge blow for Clubhouse, they instead became Spaces’ first sports partner, agreeing to host 20 live ‘Rooms’ throughout the upcoming campaign. Naturally, they were a huge success, as athletes past and present hopped on the mic to give NFL fans some extra entertainment.
As a result of all this, Twitter has become the go-to place for all things Super Bowl. From the celebratory hashtag to the score updates available on the ‘Explore’ tab, the blue bird app gave fans all the wall-to-wall coverage they could ask for. But the event is about more than just the game itself. Away from the action, Twitter users flooded the app with Tweets discussing the halftime show and the must-see commercials.
By 9:25pm ET (02:25 AM here in the UK) there were 23,600 tweets under the #PepsiHalftime show hashtag, thanks to a host of hip-hop’s greatest names coming out for an iconic performance. The SoFi’s field looked like a rap Mount Rushmore during the interval. Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J Blige, Kendrick Lamar - and a surprise showing from 50 Cent, just for good measure - sent Twitter into a frenzy after a halftime show for the ages.
Then, there were the commercials. Ads are often the bane of any sports fan’s regular game-day viewing. But when Super Bowl time comes around, the world’s biggest brands pull out all the stops to wow a gigantic audience. We spoke about the significance of Super Bowl commercials on a recent episode of The Social Jar Podcast.
2022 saw some great entries. But there was one in particular - from McDonalds - that we saw more of on social media than any other. This was thanks to a humorous starring role from Kanye West (whose recent, unrelated Instagram habits have been newsworthy to say the least), who pulls up to a McDonalds’ drive-thru in a Yeezy Tank, before dropping a very relatable line. We won’t spoil it for those that haven’t seen it. Watch it here.
In what was a pretty poor effort from all at Uni4m HQ, none of us stayed up to enjoy LVI live. But whilst we may have missed out on some edge-of-your-seat action in real time, we did all wake up to a tsunami of posts on our Twitter feeds. It remains the best possible platform for all sporting chatter, not just NFL. With many of our clients heralding from the world of sport, we often see this first-hand.
It seems that with every passing Super Bowl, Twitter is pretty set on outdoing their efforts from the previous year, too. So given this year’s incredible efforts, we can’t see what they have up their sleeve for 2023. You already know it’s gonna be Super.