There was no need for a Hail Mary as Anthony Bullick swapped calling the plays for making them ahead of Super Bowl LVI.
Typically found behind the camera supporting clients, American football fan Anthony was interviewed live on BBC News before the Los Angeles Rams’ 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at SoFi Stadium.
Managing director of Outwrite PR, Anthony was amongst the 112.3 million people to watch the spectacle, which commanded ad rates of $6.5 million per 30 seconds.
“It’s a huge event,” said Anthony, whose sports PR agency expertise was called upon. “The Super Bowl becomes much more than what is happening on the pitch.
“We are talking about how many tweets per second are going out from a marketing point of view, we are looking at the ad spend and, of course, we are talking about the half-time show.”
Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, 50 Cent and Kendrick Lamar performed the centre-piece half-time show, which attracted 103.4 million viewers, including roughly just over a million who tuned in purely for the performance.
The likelihood is that the half-time show cost upwards of $10 million.
Anthony added: “The numbers, both in terms of viewing figures and money spent, is incredible.”
Philadelphia Eagles supporter Anthony, who has played a significant role in the British & Irish Eagles fan group over recent years, attended Super Bowl LII back in 2018 as his team defeated the New England Patriots 41-33.
Offering a glimpse into what the showpiece is like for those fortunate enough to have a ticket for the end-of-season showdown, Anthony told the BBC: “It was incredible. The atmosphere leading up to the game was one of adrenaline and pure joy, and as soon as that ball was kicked off, I was a bag of nerves.
“When you are there in person, the number of events and family activities that take place – or certainly took place when I was there four years ago – was absolutely incredible in the week leading up to the event.”