There will be no property insurance advertising during this year’s Super Bowl as data shows the industry is spending less on marketing, according to a Sportico article. 

State Farm announced last month that it nixed a plan to run a Super Bowl advertisement as it focused on policyholders impacted by Southern California wildfires, USA Today reported.

“Our claims force is the largest in the industry and we are bringing the full scale and force of our catastrophe response teams to help customers recover – whether they are on the ground in LA or across the country,” State Farm said in an email to the newspaper. 

State Farm told the newspaper it serves more customers in the state than any other insurer, with 8 million customers. 

As of Jan. 29, State Farm told Sportico they’d received 10,400 homeowners and auto claims from the wildfires. 

Purchasing a Super Bowl ad would have cost State Farm about $24 million, Sportico says. It adds the cost includes $14 million for buying two units of commercial airtime from Fox and about $10 million for creative costs. 

Sportico reports that Progressive, which aired its first Super Bowl advertisement last year, confirmed it will not be running an ad this year. The article also notes that GEICO and Allstate have not run a Super Bowl ad in nearly a decade.  

“Not having ads with Jake from State Farm, Flo from Progressive, or the GEICO Gecko during the game might seem unusual but it reflects an ongoing trend of declining ad spend from the biggest insurers in the U.S,” Sportico says. 

S&P Global reports GEICO Corp. cut its advertising budget by 35% in 2023, followed by Allstate decreasing its ad spending by 30%. It says Progressive slashed its ad expense by 29% during the same time period and State Farm by 2%. 

“Of course, it may be hard to tell that insurers have a diminished ad presence,” Sportico writes. ”When factoring in the numerous title/presenting sponsorships (pregame shows, halftime promotions, etc.) along with paid airtime, overall sports investment in the insurance category remains largely unchanged. State Farm has multiyear pacts with NFL vendors, meaning that those payouts are unlikely to vary season to season.”

Insurers aren’t the only companies skipping Super Bowl ads this year. Multiple automakers are as well. 

Kia, BMW, and Volkswagen all ran Super Bowl ads in 2024 but have decided to skip this year, Adweek reports. It notes Toyota, General Motors, Audi, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes, and Lexus have all confirmed they also will pass on the big game. 

Stellenatis brands Ram and Jeep are the only brands that have committed to primetime slots, Adweek reports. It says Toyota won’t have a commercial but will be seen around the event as a sponsor.

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