Latest / Influencer Marketing with Fexingo: Creators, Sponsorships, and Modern Endorsement Deals / Influencers Are Buying TV Ad Slots During Major Events
Transcript
- Lucas: So there's this thing that crept up on a lot of people in the creator economy over the past year or so, and it's about where influencer marketing is showing up next. Not on TikTok, not on YouTube, not even on Netflix — but on live, linear television, during the biggest broadcast events of the year. Luna: Wait, you mean influencers buying TV ads? Like, a 30-second spot during the Super Bowl? Lucas: Exactly that. We've seen a handful of top-tier creators — think MrBeast, Emma Chamberlain, a couple of gaming streamers — buying national ad slots during the Super Bowl, the Oscars, the NBA Finals. And not as a stunt. They're treating it as a repeatable, data-driven channel. Luna: That's a fascinating shift. If these marketing conversations have sparked something you've actually used — a tactic, a framework — and it was worth a coffee, you can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's what keeps this show ad-free and independent. Lucas: Yeah, genuinely appreciate that. So let's get into the numbers. A 30-second Super Bowl spot in 2026 goes for about seven million dollars. That's out of reach for almost any creator as a solo bet. But what some of them are doing is fractionalizing that slot. Luna: Fractionalizing — meaning they sell pieces of the ad time to multiple brand partners, like a syndicate? Lucas: Right. The creator buys the full slot from the network — or from a reseller — then carves it up into five or six segments, each maybe five or six seconds long, and sells those to brands. The creator's own brand appears in the first and last segments, and the middle ones are brand spots. It's like a mini ad pod within a pod. Luna: So the creator basically becomes a media buyer and a network. That's a big leap from a sponsored Instagram post. Lucas: It's a totally different skill set. But the reason they're doing it is audience data. When a creator runs a TV ad, they don't just throw up a brand message — they include a call to action that drives viewers to a landing page or a QR code that lands on the creator's own platform. Suddenly, they capture first-party data from a TV audience, which is something traditional TV advertising has never been great at. Luna: And that data is gold for them, because they can retarget those viewers on social or email. So the TV slot becomes a top of funnel acquisition cost. Lucas: Exactly. The creator pays seven million dollars, but if they get, say, two million new email subscribers or SMS opt-ins at a cost of three dollars fifty each, that's actually cheaper than most digital acquisition channels. And those subscribers are high-intent — they saw the ad during a culturally significant moment and chose to engage. Luna: I've heard MrBeast talk about this. He said his Super Bowl ad in 2024 drove something like a million visitors to his website in the first hour. But that was a one-off. Now it's becoming a repeatable playbook. Lucas: And it's not just Super Bowl. The Oscars this year had a creator segment — a 60-second block that was essentially a showcase of influencer-created ads. Emma Chamberlain was one of the creators, and she used the slot to promote her coffee company, Chamberlain Coffee, but also to direct people to a limited-edition drop. She sold out in under 20 minutes. Luna: So the TV ad is essentially a launchpad for a commerce event. That's smart. But I wonder about the ROI for smaller creators. Not everyone has seven million dollars or even seven hundred thousand. Lucas: That's the thing — the economics only work if you have a large enough existing audience to guarantee a baseline of attention, and if you have a product or service that converts well. For a creator with a million subscribers but no direct revenue stream, it's a huge gamble. But for creators who already run a DTC brand, the math can pencil out. Luna: Let's talk about the regulatory side. The FTC requires clear disclosure for sponsored content on social. But what about a 30-second TV ad that a creator bought themselves? Does it need a disclosure tag? And who's responsible — the creator or the network? Lucas: Great question. As of now, the FTC hasn't issued specific guidance for creator-purchased TV ads. The general principle is that if the creator is promoting their own product, no disclosure needed — it's commercial speech. But if they're selling ad segments to brands, those brand segments likely need a disclosure, like 'paid promotion' or 'sponsored.' The issue is, on TV, you can't put a hashtag ad on screen for two seconds and call it done. The FTC expects clear, conspicuous disclosure. Luna: Has any creator been called out for this yet? Lucas: Not publicly, but it's a matter of time. The networks themselves are starting to include fine print in their contracts. NBCUniversal, for example, now has a clause for creator-bought slots that says the creator must ensure all brand integrations are clearly identified as paid. But enforcement is fuzzy. Luna: I want to get into the audience data angle a bit more. Because TV has always been a reach medium — you know roughly how many people saw your ad, but not who they are. Creators are changing that. Lucas: They are. A typical brand that buys a Super Bowl ad measures success by brand lift surveys and maybe website traffic. But a creator like MrBeast can track exactly which viewers came from the TV ad because they use unique URLs or QR codes that are only shown during the broadcast. Plus, they can cross-reference that data with their own audience analytics platform. Luna: So they're essentially creating a closed-loop attribution system for a TV campaign. That's something TV networks have been trying to sell to brands for years, but creators are just doing it themselves. Lucas: Right. And it's working. I saw a study from a measurement firm — I think it was TVision — that showed creator-run TV ads have about 30 percent higher unaided recall than traditional brand TV spots. Viewers remember them better because they feel more authentic, less polished. Luna: That makes sense. A creator's ad might feature them talking directly to camera, in their own style, whereas a traditional ad is more produced. The dissonance actually helps it stand out. Lucas: Exactly. And there's a generational factor. Younger viewers — 18 to 34 — are so accustomed to influencer content that seeing a creator on TV during the Super Bowl feels like a cultural crossover, not an ad. They're more likely to engage. Luna: But is this really scalable? I mean, the Super Bowl only happens once a year. The Oscars, the NBA Finals — those are finite events. Can creators build a sustainable ad-buying practice around just a few big moments? Lucas: They're starting to buy into other live events too — award shows like the Grammys, major sports like the World Series, even the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. And a few have bought slots on national morning shows or late-night talk shows, though those are cheaper. The key is that the event must be live or appointment viewing, because that's where the shared attention is. Luna: So it's not about TV as a medium per se, but about cultural moments that concentrate viewership. That's a different strategy from running a TV campaign that aims for sustained reach. Lucas: Exactly. A creator isn't trying to build brand awareness over weeks. They want a single, high-impact spike that drives immediate action — a product drop, a sign-up, a contest. And then they capture the data and retarget afterward. Luna: I'm curious about the production side. A Super Bowl ad costs a fortune to produce — typically millions more for talent, sets, CGI. How are creators keeping production costs low? Lucas: Most of them are shooting the ad themselves, often on the same cameras they use for YouTube or Instagram. MrBeast's Super Bowl ad was shot in one day with his regular crew. The production cost was maybe fifty thousand dollars — a fraction of what a traditional brand would spend. And that's part of the authenticity appeal. Luna: So the barrier to entry isn't just the media cost, but also the ability to produce something that doesn't look like a traditional TV ad but still meets broadcast standards. Lucas: Right. And networks are getting more flexible. Some are offering 'creator-ready' ad slots that have relaxed technical specs — they accept vertical video, for instance, or lower resolution. The industry is adapting because they see the audience these creators bring. Luna: Let's talk about the downside. If every top creator starts buying Super Bowl ads, doesn't that dilute the novelty? And what about the risk of a flop — you spend seven million and get no meaningful response? Lucas: Those are real risks. The novelty is already fading — this year's Super Bowl had four creator-bought slots, up from two the year before. But the data shows that even with more creators, the average recall and engagement per creator ad has stayed high, because each creator brings their own audience. The flop risk is mitigated by the fractional model — if you're selling segments, you're not on the hook for the full seven million. Luna: Still, it's a bet. And for a creator whose brand is built on authenticity, a TV ad that feels too slick could backfire. Lucas: That's why the smart ones keep it raw. The ad should look like the creator's regular content, just on a bigger screen. If it looks like a typical TV commercial, viewers will tune out. Luna: I'm wondering what this means for traditional ad agencies. If creators can buy media, produce the creative, and measure results themselves, what's left for the agency? Lucas: Agencies are worried. Some are pivoting to become 'creator media brokers' — they help creators negotiate with networks and find fractional partners. Others are trying to partner with creators rather than compete. But I think the long-term trend is that top creators will build in-house media buying teams, just like they've built in-house creative teams. Luna: It's a fascinating blurring of lines. The creator becomes a brand, a media company, and an advertiser all at once. Lucas: And that's the direction of travel. Every part of the value chain is getting disintermediated. What we're seeing now is just the beginning of influencers colonizing the last holdout of old media — live television. Luna: So what's next? The Super Bowl is in February. Are we going to see a dozen creator ads next year? Lucas: I'd bet on it. And not just the Super Bowl. I think within two years, major live events will have dedicated 'creator blocks' where networks sell ad time specifically to influencers. It's a new revenue stream for them, and creators get access to a huge, engaged audience. The question is whether the FTC steps in with clear rules before then. Luna: Or whether the audience gets fatigued. But for now, it's a powerful new tool in the creator marketing toolkit. Lucas: Absolutely. And it's one more reminder that the line between creator and media company is disappearing.