South Africa, Feb. 11 -- The NFL Super Bowl is one of the greatest mass media events in an otherwise fragmented world. On Sunday night at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, the NFL orchestrated a marketing phenomenon that made it one of the most-watched sporting events in the US. Importantly, the surge in viewership figures made it a home run for the NFL in business terms.

The numbers tell only part of the story. NBCUniversal sold advertising slots at an average of $8m per 30 seconds, with premium placements fetching $10m. The spots sold out eight months before kickoff, in an unprecedented timeline that speaks to the NFL's perfected scarcity value.

But here's what separates the Super Bowl from every other sporting event: it's th...