The Flash's Big Game Spot Outpaced All Ads at 2023 Super Bowl

02/14/2023 06:15 pm EST

The Flash raced to a first-place finish at Super Bowl LVII, beating out all other ads in terms of social media engagement. Per the data analytics and engagement metrics firm EDO — which scored more than 100 national Super Bowl ads, measuring incremental online engagement immediately after airing — The Flash's big game spot took the number one spot overall with an engagement index of 2373, meaning it performed 24x better than the median Super Bowl commercial. The 45-second spot aired during the second quarter and followed the first full-length Flash trailer, which Warner Bros. Pictures released online ahead of kickoff between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.

Other ads to place in EDO's entertainment category include Disney's 90-second Disney 100 spot at #3 (12.5x the median for an engagement index of 1248), LiveNation's 15-second spot for U2's Las Vegas residency at #5 (743), and Amazon Studios' 60-second spot advertising Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's NIKE shoe drama AIR at #9 (607). Universal's 60-second Fast X big game spot landed the #13 spot (454), followed by Universal's 30-second Cocaine Bear spot at #17 (436); Disney and Marvel Studios' 30-second spot for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which released its full trailer online during the game, took the #21 spot (360).

Sunday's Super Bowl spot and trailer showcased the return of super-speedster Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) and two Batmen: the Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) of Barry's universe and the Batman (Michael Keaton) of an alternate reality home to a younger, powerless Barry (also played by Miller). Also featured in the trailer and TV spot was 2013's Man of Steel villain General Zod (again played by Michael Shannon) and the Kryptonian Kara (Sasha Calle), Superman's cousin also known as Supergirl.

The 45-second Flash Super Bowl spot was Warner Bros.' first big game ad in 17 years: the studio last shelled out for V for Vendetta, Poseidon, and 16 Blocks in 2006.

The Flash synopsis states, "Worlds collide in The Flash when Barry uses his superpowers to travel back in time in order to change the events of the past. But when his attempt to save his family inadvertently alters the future, Barry becomes trapped in a reality in which General Zod has returned, threatening annihilation, and there are no Super Heroes to turn to. That is, unless Barry can coax a very different Batman out of retirement and rescue an imprisoned Kryptonian… albeit not the one he's looking for. Ultimately, to save the world that he is in and return to the future that he knows, Barry's only hope is to race for his life. But will making the ultimate sacrifice be enough to reset the universe?"

Starring Ezra Miller, Sasha Calle, Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston, Maribel Verdú, Kiersey Clemons, Antje Traue, Ben Affleck, and Michael Keaton, The Flash speeds into theaters June 16th.

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