Why would a vodka brand spend close to $9 million on a Super Bowl ad at a time when alcohol sales are slowing and advertising budgets are under pressure?

In this episode, Kelly Sweeney and Sean Wright break down Svedka Vodka’s first-ever Super Bowl commercial and what it reveals about where advertising, culture, and brand strategy are heading.

The conversation looks at why Svedka is leaning into AI-assisted creative, early-2010s internet nostalgia, and influencer-driven activation—while many brands are pulling back. Sean also walks through the real math behind Super Bowl advertising, explaining what return on ad spend actually looks like at that scale and why brands often treat the Super Bowl as a cultural signal rather than a direct sales play.

This episode covers:

• How AI is being used quietly inside major brand campaigns
• Why nostalgia marketing has shifted from the 1990s to the mid-2000s
• What a Super Bowl ad really costs—and what it takes to justify it
• Why influencer culture is replacing traditional celebrity endorsements
• How meme creation has become a modern success metric for advertising

They also discuss broader Super Bowl advertising trends, the decline of liquor ads, rising NFL unit rates, and why brands continue to place massive bets on the biggest stage in media—even when the numbers don’t pencil out cleanly.

If you’re interested in brand strategy, advertising economics, or how culture drives marketing decisions, this episode offers a clear, grounded look at what’s actually happening behind the scenes.

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