You can now watch the Super Bowl on UK terrestrial TV - but how many Brits will actually tune in for the other kind of football? Last year, a third of Brits caught the game live or via highlights - but unlike Americans, Brits were as likely to watch it on their own as with friends. It seems we can even make the Super Bowl politely antisocial.
Scroll down for more insights into the NFL championship game.
Stats to power your week
🏈What are the important things to know ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl LX? In 2025, the Super Bowl was primarily a cultural touchpoint (about 70% feel it connects them to American culture) rather than a reliable shopping trigger (only about 40% say they’ve bought because of its ads, with ~25% neutral). GWI Moments
📠Marketing thought leader Tom Goodwin recently tweeted about how “10 times more companies use fax machines than Slack”, and that ratio “changes slowly”. We can debate the exact difference, but he does have a point - 16% of professionals use a fax machine at work, compared to 9% who use Slack. GWI Work
🏀There aren’t currently any states in the US where the WNBA is more popular than the NBA. But in Iowa, the home state of marquee player Caitlin Clark, they’re pretty close - 15% follow the women’s basketball league, while 18% follow the men’s. GWI USA
🧞Project Genie 3 is Google DeepMind/Labs’ new experimental prototype that lets users generate, explore, and remix interactive game-like worlds from a text prompt or image in real time. Gaming is one of the areas most ripe for AI integration, with 40% worldwide interested in the prospect of AI-generated games. GWI Zeitgeist
Meet the audience: YOLO travellers
Without GWI data
With GWI data
Deep down all of us probably think we want a “once-in-a-lifetime experience” at some point in our lives, but only 14% of global consumers cite it as an active influence when planning their vacations.
Without GWI data, you might assume something of an “Eat, Pray, Love” kinda vibe - older, more affluent consumers, who lean on Pinterest to plan their perfect trip. What we find instead is a meaningful Gen Z skew, especially those going through a life transition, whether it’s moving away from their hometown, or starting to date.
They’re less likely to be influenced by traveler reviews and instead lean more toward expert endorsements and comparison tools. Pinterest and Instagram are important for inspiration, but they’re paired with a self-development motive (learning new skills matters), turning the audience from “awe-seekers” into “awe + transformation” planners.
Chart of the week
For decades cigarettes were shorthand for stress reduction, rebellion, and social cachet. But as cannabis legalization has spread across the USA, it’s become the preferred regular habit for some. Here, we’ve identified some of the key audiences where cannabis use has overtaken cigarettes the fastest.
A few segments emerge. One is related to identity and culture, as we see with Dominicans and pansexuals. Then there are those who work in taste-maker professions, who are often at the cutting-edge and have a meaningful cultural impact in their own right. Then we have groups that hint at the environments where cannabis is consumed - near-grads, Hinge users, Aperol drinkers, and heavy gamers.
More from GWI
Catch up with us and special guests Pinterest talking about the hidden marketing trends for 2026.
For more insights into travel, here are 10 travel trends we identified in a blog from last year.
