The Super Bowl halftime show—Bad Bunny is the headliner in the upcoming contest—commands almost as much attention as the game itself. 

And for the first time, the NFL is sponsoring a two-day concert series during Super Bowl week in Santa Clara, CA, host city of the 2026 game. 

For those reasons, Platinum Rye Entertainment, part of Omnicom’s TMA, decided to focus its 2025 “Pre Super Poll” on the importance of music in Super Bowl advertising.  

Foremost among the findings: respondents said the use of a favorite song (40%) in a Super Bowl ad was more memorable than a favorite movie/movie scene (33%) or celebrity (27%). 

The study also found that Super Bowl ads are vehicles for discovering or rediscovering music, with 44% of those polled saying they have searched for and streamed or downloaded a song after hearing it in an ad. 

Original artists (45%) and recordings (33%) have more appeal than updated versions (20%), per the survey. 

The poll also found that the following brands have used music to the most memorable effect in Super Bowl ads: Budweiser & Bud Light, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Doritos, Nike and Apple. 

The reigning queen of pop, Taylor Swift, is the celebrity most respondents would like to see in a Super Bowl ad. Other popular choices: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jimmy Kimmel and Beyonce.  

The survey also found that music helps to open wallets, with 40% of respondents saying they have purchased or would purchase something after seeing an ad with a musician or song they love. Millennials are the most likely to do so. 

The survey was fielded in September across a US representative sample of 1,000+ respondents.