The National Football League dominates the fall, but over the years, spring has seen attempts by multiple versions of the United States Football League, the XFL, and the (old) United Football League to carve their niche in the sport.
Before the 2024 season, the XFL and USFL merged to form the new United Football League (UFL), an eight-team spring football competition. The league’s inaugural season kicked off in March, and we decided to take a look at how its ads are performing for brands.
For UFL, The Whole Is Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts
After two weeks of the new UFL season, we found that ads during game broadcasts were outperforming their counterparts from the respective 2023 USFL and XFL campaigns.
Viewers of games during the first two weeks of the 2024 UFL season were just as likely to engage with a brand online in the moments after its ad aired as viewers of the first two weeks of the 2023 USFL regular season. And due to the larger audiences the new UFL is generating, the average brand earned 50% more total ad impact from an ad during the first two weeks of the 2024 UFL season than the first two weeks of the 2023 USFL season.
As compared to the first two weeks of last year’s XFL season, UFL ads were 7% more likely to generate consumer engagement while delivering 15% more total ad impact.
Which Teams Are Drawing Eyeballs?
The Memphis Showboats were part of the two most engaging broadcasts of the young UFL season.
The top five broadcasts from the first two weeks of the 2024 UFL season, by the likelihood that viewers would engage with brands online after their spots aired, were:
- San Antonio Brahmas at Memphis Showboats, April 6: 23% more likely engagement than the average primetime broadcast and cable spot, with a total impact 1.6 times that of the broadcast and cable primetime average
- Showboats at Birmingham Stallions, April 13
- Houston Roughnecks at D.C. Defenders, April 7
- St. Louis BattleHawks at Michigan Panthers, March 30
- Stallions at Arlington Renegades, March 30
A Healthy Mix of Brands in Play
Several categories were represented in the list of top 10 brands during broadcasts of the first two weeks of the UFL campaign, by likelihood that viewers would engage with the brand online following its spot:
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Miller Lite Scores Top Creative
Miller Lite delivered the most effective creative of the young season, with an ad featuring its long-running “Tastes great! Less filling!” debate alongside former NBA star Reggie Miller, ex-NFL star JJ Watt, and actor Luke Wilson.
The top five creatives by likelihood to generate engagement were:
- Miller Lite, 7 airings, +140% more likely to generate engagement than the average 2024 UFL ad
- Liberty Mutual Insurance, 6 airings, +139%
- T-Mobile Wireless, 5 airings, +125%
- Walmart, 19 airings, +117%
- Liberty Mutual Insurance, 9 airings, +115%
EDO is Your Home for Football Outcomes
While the UFL’s ratings might not be as large as the NFL’s massive audiences, it’s a new and intriguing opportunity for brands to smartly get in on some great engagement opportunities — with a lower price that will drive a greater ROI.
Looking for even more football TV ad effectiveness intel? Our recent 2023-24 NFL TV Outcomes Report is chock full of it. Download it today to plan your 2024 sports buying.