Here are the cases for and against an $8 million Super Bowl ad 

HexClad, a direct-to-consumer cookware brand, is running its first Super Bowl spot this Sunday. The DTC brand is one of several new-comers, including Häagen-Dazs, Duracell and MSC Cruises, shelling out significant ad dollars to secure a 30- or 60-second spot in the Big Game. 

It’s a risk, says Daniel Winer, co-founder and CEO of HexClad. “It’s frighteningly expensive, even for big companies,” said Winer, referring to the whopping $8 million price tag for a 30-second spot. “So you’re really left wondering, is the juice going to be worth the squeeze with this?”

Obviously, it’s a risk worth taking for HexClad, given the brand has a 30-second Big Game spot featuring Gordon Ramsay and Pete Davidson. For that kind of money, however, the stakes are high for advertisers to either come in for a perfect landing or risk wasting millions of ad dollars, which is par the course with the Super Bowl. But with the price tag up even more — let alone the cost of production and talent — it’s a gamble that some are sitting out.

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