The Super Bowl continues to deliver unparalleled reach for brands seeking large-scale exposure. In 2026, advertising during the event comes with a substantial financial commitment: the average cost of a 30-second commercial is around $8 million, with some placements reaching $10 million, according to Bloomberg. These figures reflect airtime only and do not include production, talent, or distribution costs, setting a new record and underscoring the intense demand for Super Bowl airtime and the value advertisers place on its global audience.

There’s nothing that builds awareness like the Super Bowl and so I think that’s why you continue to see brands lean into it.

Mark Marshall, NBCUniversal

Post-Ad Traffic and Brand Search Behaviour

Super Bowl advertising typically triggers immediate viewer response. Within minutes of an ad airing, audiences search for the brand name, visit its website, or discuss it across social platforms. In most cases, viewers search for the brand directly rather than a campaign slogan or product feature.

If the brand’s domain name does not match the brand name, users may experience confusion or be diverted to search results, paid ads, or competing properties. This creates unnecessary friction at a moment when interest is highest.

The Role of Exact Brand Match (EBM) Domain Name

An Exact Brand Match (EBM) domain name is the most intuitive choice for existing and future customers, business partners, and investors when they search for a brand online. If a brand is called “Example,” most people will naturally expect to find it at Example.com. Below are some of the key benefits of owning an EBM domain name, particularly during high-visibility campaigns such as the Super Bowl.

• Instant Recognition: An EBM domain name removes friction at the moment of peak interest. No redirects. No explanations. Just instant access. 

• Trust at Scale: In a high-profile moment like the Super Bowl, credibility matters. A matching .com signals legitimacy and authority. 

• Defensive Branding: Super Bowl exposure increases the risk of traffic leakage to similarly named domain names, parked pages, or third-party sites. Owning the EBM domain name prevents competitors, resellers, or bad actors from capturing brand-driven traffic or creating confusion during peak interest periods.

• Maximising a $10M Spend: When the cost of entry is eight figures, every lost click is expensive. An EBM domain name helps ensure traffic, buzz, and conversions land where they should – on your brand.

• Long-Term Brand Asset Value: Beyond a single campaign, an EBM domain name is a durable digital asset. It supports future marketing efforts, partnerships, and investor communications by providing a stable and recognisable point of reference for the brand.

Let’s check out some Super Bowl ads that caught people’s attention and explore the domain name strategies behind them.

Ramp | Multiply What’s Possible

Ramp’s “Multiply What’s Possible” spot for Super Bowl LX brings back Brian Baumgartner, famously known as Kevin from The Office, in a humorous take on how finance teams wrestle with tedious administrative work. In the 30-second commercial, Baumgartner is buried under piles of receipts and paperwork until he discovers Ramp’s financial operations platform. Suddenly, a whole army of Brian look-alikes appears, each tackling the tasks that used to slow him down, turning manual busywork into streamlined productivity in a literal, visual way. The ad uses comedic exaggeration to illustrate Ramp’s core value – freeing teams from repetitive financial tasks so they can focus on growth.

Ramp included its Exact Brand Match (EBM) domain name, Ramp.com, at the end of the ad to create a direct path for viewers who wanted to learn more. This approach reduces reliance on search engines and removes uncertainty about where to go next. As a result, Ramp is able to capture immediate interest, avoid traffic diversion to third-party sites, and ensure that the attention generated by a high-cost Super Bowl placement flows directly to its owned digital property rather than being lost in the transition from television to online.

Dictionary-word .com domain names, such as Ramp.com, are highly valuable due to their global recognisability, strong memorability, and inherent authority, making them powerful assets for long-term brand growth.

Squarespace | Unavailable

Squarespace’s Super Bowl LX commercial centers domain names as a core part of its message. For its 12th Super Bowl campaign, the company introduced “Unavailable”, a 30-second spot starring Academy Award–winning actress and producer Emma Stone and directed by her longtime collaborator Yorgos Lanthimos. Shot on black-and-white analogue film, the ad uses a cinematic style to focus on a simple but high-stakes problem: domain ownership.

The commercial follows Stone as she attempts to register emmastone.com, only to discover that the domain name is already taken. With each failed attempt, tension builds, capturing the frustration of realising that a core part of one’s digital identity is no longer available. The narrative is intentionally minimal, allowing the concept of “unavailability” to carry the message without explanation or distraction.

“Unavailable” is the main part of a broader campaign that follows Stone’s efforts to reclaim her namesake domain name. Supporting films include “The Negotiation,” which depicts her increasingly desperate efforts to recover the domain name, and “A Message from Emma Stone,” a PSA-style spot highlighting the risks of delaying domain registration. 

We approach our Super Bowl spots like film rollouts. That mindset pushes us to create a fully-realized world that feels cinematic rather than commercial. This year, Emma’s emotional performance paired with Lanthimos’ meticulous direction delivers a story where the stakes are immediately clear.

David Lee, Chief Brand and Creative Officer at Squarespace

Domain names are not Squarespace’s core business. Founded in 2003 by Anthony Casalena while he was a student, the company began as a blog hosting and website tool before evolving into a broader online platform. Squarespace entered the domain registrar market in April 2016 with the launch of its own domain service. Its role expanded significantly with the acquisition of the Google Domains business, including approximately 10 million registered domain names. 

The prominence of domain names in this campaign reflects how Squarespace views domains as foundational to building and launching businesses online.

As a company built around helping people establish an online presence, it is not surprising that Squarespace committed to a strong and deliberate domain strategy for this campaign. Visitors to emmastone.com are directed to “A Message from Emma Stone,” reinforcing the campaign’s core message and demonstrating how domain name ownership directly affects online visibility and control. In addition, related domain names such as emmast.one, emmastone.biz, emmastone.vip, and emmastone.news all redirect to emmastone.com, ensuring consistency and preventing traffic loss. According to Whoxy.com, Squarespace, Inc. owns more than 4,500 domain names, underscoring the company’s long-standing focus on domain name ownership as a strategic asset.

Ring | Be A Hero In Your Neighborhood

For the first time, Ring – the home security company owned by Amazon – took the Super Bowl stage with a commercial that focuses less on product features and more on community and real-world impact. The 30-second spot highlights Ring’s Search Party for Dogs feature, a new capability designed to help reunite lost dogs with their owners.

The ad opens with emotional scenes that many pet owners will recognise: missing dog posters around a neighbourhood, a worried family searching for their pet, and the fear that comes with a beloved animal out of sight. Ring founder Jamie Siminoff appears in the spot to introduce Search Party, which uses AI together with Ring’s network of outdoor cameras and the Ring Neighbours app to scan footage for matches to posted dog photos. When a possible match is found, nearby camera owners receive a notification and can choose to share footage to help with reunification.

The commercial emphasises community action, inviting neighbours to work together to locate missing pets and branding the feature with the tagline “Be a hero in your neighbourhood.” Since its launch, Ring says the Search Party feature already helps reunite more than one dog a day with its family

Ring began as a garage project called DoorBot, created in 2011 by entrepreneur Jamie Siminoff and a small team to let homeowners see and speak with visitors through their smartphones. After launching to the public in 2012 and appearing on Shark Tank in 2013 without securing an investment, the company raised funding and rebranded to Ring in 2014, a name chosen for its dual meaning – the sound of a doorbell and the sense of security it provides around a home. As part of that rebrand, the company acquired the highly memorable Ring.com, which has helped the brand stand out and be easily recognised. Over time, Ring expanded beyond its original video doorbell into a broad home-security product line and was ultimately acquired by Amazon for approximately $1 billion.

While I am not [into] domains as an investment I think the ultra premium ones do make a big difference. When we talk to a partner and give them an email address, name@ring.com, they always say “wow.” Also from a viral perspective everyone can remember Ring.com. I think it is not one thing but many variables that make the ultra premium domains still valuable for companies.

Jamie Siminoff, Founder of Ring for NamePros

Ring reinforces its domain strategy by ending the commercial with a clear call to action: “Join the neighborhood at Ring.com.” By directing viewers to its EBM domain name, Ring creates a simple and immediate next step for anyone interested in learning more. This approach helps the company capture traffic efficiently, reduces reliance on search engines and third-party platforms, and makes it easier for viewers to engage with the brand instantly while interest is still high.

Pepsi | The Choice

Pepsi’s 2026 Super Bowl ad, titled “The Choice,” puts a playful spin on the brand’s long-running rivalry with Coca-Cola by reviving the classic Pepsi Challenge concept. Directed by Academy Award–winning filmmaker Taika Waititi, the commercial is built around what Pepsi calls “a simple truth” the brand says it has proven repeatedly: Pepsi wins on taste. The spot features a cola-loving polar bear taking part in a blind taste test between Pepsi Zero Sugar and Coke Zero Sugar. When the bear chooses Pepsi Zero Sugar, the moment sets off a humorous journey of self-discovery, complete with therapy sessions and pop-culture references, such as a Coldplay kiss-cam moment set to Queen’s “I Want to Break Free.”

PepsiCo’s strength is a portfolio built for today with bold taste and modern choices. We’ll invite America to rethink its cola of choice with Pepsi Zero Sugar, the fastest‑growing zero‑sugar cola. 

Mark Kirkham, Chief Marketing Officer of PepsiCo Beverages North America

In terms of domain strategy, PepsiCo operates a large portfolio of well-known brands, many of which use Exact Brand Match (EBM) domain names. This includes Pepsi.com, Lays.com, Aquafina.com, Bubly.com, Cheetos.com, Doritos.com, Fritos.com, Funyuns.com, Gatorade.com, Lipton.com, MountainDew.com, GameFuel.com, NearEast.com, Ruffles.com, Smartfood.com, SoBe.com, and many others. Super Bowl commercials generate massive spikes in brand interest, and companies with strong domain strategies are well positioned to capture that attention quickly by directing viewers to clear, trusted, brand-matching digital destinations.

Novartis | Relax Your Tight End

Novartis’s 2026 Super Bowl commercial, part of its “Relax, It’s a Blood Test” campaign, tackles prostate cancer screening with humour and star power. The 60-second spot features a lineup of current and former NFL tight ends, including Rob Gronkowski, George Kittle, Greg Olsen, Tony Gonzalez, Delanie Walker, and Vernon Davis, along with Super Bowl-winning coach and prostate cancer survivor Bruce Arians. Set to the song “Only Time” by Enya, the ad shows the players in relaxed, light-hearted scenes while Arians explains that prostate cancer screening begins with a simple blood test, not the dreaded digital rectal exam many men assume is required. By using a cheeky play on the phrase “relax your tight end,” the spot aims to reduce anxiety and stigma around screening, encourage men to talk to their doctors about testing, and educate viewers that early detection, which can lead to much higher survival rates, starts with a straightforward PSA blood test rather than an invasive procedure. The campaign is supported by a broader initiative that includes educational resources and community outreach with advocacy partners to make prostate cancer screening more accessible and better understood. 

Novartis is easy to find online with its EBM domain name, Novartis.com. The company supports the Super Bowl commercial with a clear campaign destination by directing viewers to RelaxItsABloodTest.com, a purpose-built site focused on prostate cancer screening education and next steps. This ensures that the attention generated by the commercial is met with a simple, credible online destination where viewers can quickly learn more and take action.

The Importance of Domain Strategy in Super Bowl Ads

Super Bowl advertising is one of the biggest marketing investments a company can make. In 2026, a 30-second commercial cost roughly $8 million, with some advertisers paying over $10 million, not including production costs. Brands justify this price because the Super Bowl delivers something few other channels can: massive reach, cultural attention, and immediate consumer response.

But visibility alone does not guarantee results. Once the ad airs, viewers often act within minutes – searching the brand, typing it directly into a browser, or sharing it on social media. A strong domain name strategy ensures that the attention created by the commercial translates into real website traffic, engagement, and conversion.

The Cost of a Domain–Brand Mismatch

A domain name mismatch is a user experience issue. People move quickly after an ad and type what they expect. During the Super Bowl, small errors scale fast.

Here are the most common consequences:

• Confusion: If the domain name doesn’t match the brand name, viewers may not find the correct website. Many will abandon the search or end up on a competitor, reseller, or unrelated page.

• Trust and Credibility Issues: A domain name that looks inconsistent can reduce confidence, especially for first-time visitors. When people hesitate, conversion rates drop.

• Weaker Brand Consistency: Super Bowl campaigns are designed for clarity and memorability. A mismatched domain name creates a break in the brand experience and makes the campaign harder to recall.

• Reduced Return on Advertising Spend: Super Bowl ads are expensive. Losing traffic due to domain name confusion reduces the value of the entire campaign – not just the website visit. 

• Traffic Leakage and Competitive Exposure: If the EBM domain name is not owned, other parties may control it. That creates a direct risk of traffic being captured elsewhere during peak demand.

EBM Domain Names: A Strategic Asset Beyond the Campaign

A Super Bowl commercial is a moment. An Exact Brand Match (EBM) domain name is infrastructure.

During the Super Bowl, brands compete for attention in a limited time window. The companies that convert that attention most effectively are the ones that make the next step obvious. An EBM domain name makes it easier for customers to find the brand instantly, while also strengthening long-term credibility.

Unlike media spend, a strong domain name is not consumed after the campaign ends. It remains a permanent brand asset that supports future advertising, partnerships, investor communications, and customer trust.

Comparing Super Bowl Ads vs. Exact Brand Match Domain Names

A Super Bowl ad can create instant awareness at scale. An EBM domain name provides long-term strategic advantage by ensuring the brand is easy to find, easy to trust, and hard to confuse with anything else. The strongest campaigns invest in both. If budgets are limited, securing the right domain name is often the more durable long-term decision.

Domain Names Highlights

In our Super Bowl 2026 list, 58 out of 60 companies used a .com domain name, reinforcing its position as the most trusted and widely recognised extension for major brands.

49 out of 60 companies own their EBM domain name, showing how many advertisers prioritise domain name clarity and direct navigation, especially when a single 30-second commercial can cost up to $10 million.

None of the companies on the list used a hyphen in their domain name. Hyphens make domain names harder to type and easier to mistype, which can reduce direct traffic and create unnecessary friction for users trying to reach a brand online.

The right domain name is an important consideration when it comes to building and protecting your brand. If you’re ready to take the next step and invest in a perfect domain name for your business, contact us to learn more about our available options and how we can help you get started.

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