Make no mistake, Super Bowl LX was stuffed with musical stars, starting with Bad Bunny, Lady Gaga, and Ricky Martin, all of whom graced the high-wattage Halftime Show. On the commercial side, mega-stars like Post Malone, Charli XCX, DJ Khaled, Sabrina Carpenter, and Benson Boone flamed the celebrity sizzle.

But the real magic in many of those ads came from tracks released decades ago. In some cases, the featured songs were more than 50 years old.

One exception was Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Espresso,’ tapped by Pringles for a broader ad featuring the singer herself. Benson Boone was also the star musical performer in a comic Instacart ad.

For most Super Bowl LX mega-advertisers, however, the go-to track was the catalog classic, with smashes from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and early 2000s dominating the sync soundscape. Bud Light factored Post Malone into the celebrity cast of their ‘Keg’ spot, but the music driving the comic ad was Whitney Houston’s 1992 mega-hit, “I Will Always Love You”.

Similarly, Budweiser tapped Lynyrd Skynyrd’s 1973 lighter-raiser “Free Bird” for its mega-budget spot, while Pepsi used Queen’s 1982 classic, “We Will Rock You.” Also tapping into 80s nostalgia was Michelob ULTRA, which used Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” to drive home its message.

Novartis used Enya’s 2000 new age classic “Only Time” for a jokey ‘tight end’ ad, while Wegovy used Skee-lo’s 1995 upbeat rap hit, “I Wish,” with DJ Khaled featured in the spot.

Older acts were also featured, with the Backstreet Boys a central component of T-Mobile’s nostalgia-fueled appeal. Digging deeper, late-60s songs were prominently featured, albeit as covers, with Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” and Mr. Rogers “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” reimagined by Andy Samberg and Lady Gaga, respectively.

One reason might be the universal appeal and easy lift that comes from a tried-and-true classic, particularly in ultra-fragmented times like these. And thrust into the divisive soup of a Bad Bunny Halftime Show and endless political headaches, brands like Bud Light may simply want to appeal to big customer bases again.

And with ad budgets often starting at $10 million, you can’t fault a brand for wanting a musical safe bet. But there’s data backing these choices: a 2023 study by Songtradr found that 85% of the most-liked Super Bowl ads with licensed music featured catalog tracks. Advertisers simply can’t ignore the stronger response data coming from catalog-synced ad concepts.

All of which is great news for a music industry now heavily invested in storied catalogs. Though when it comes to Super Bowl spots, brands are frequently only interested in the biggest, most iconic smash hits — and they’re obviously willing to pay for them.