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Chrysler
Chrysler felt so strongly about what a Super Bowl ad could do the company bought two minutes of time for just one spot featuring Eminem in last year's game. Will other advertisers follow the long-form trend?
Another year, another record. The ad space available for next month's broadcast of Super Bowl XLVI has sold out and will likely top last year's take. Experts say companies will line up to pay millions again next year and the year after that for the privilege of being part of Super Sunday.
When will making a big buy in the Big Game stop being cost-effective? Probably never. Or at least not until people stop drinking, snacking and most importantly, watching TV.
For marketers, "it’s a huge investment, but it’s also one of the best ways to maximize their time” in front of an audience, said Brian Steinberg, television editor for Advertising Age. “Fewer TV properties have that reach thanks to DVR and the Web. The Super Bowl is increasing, rather than losing, its audience.”
This year viewers are likely to see more long-form ads (longer than the traditional 30 seconds) and more linking to social networks.
NBC will be broadcasting the game Feb. 5 from Indianapolis. The network said this week that all available time during the game is sold out, although some spots in the pregame were still available. The network coyly will not say how much advertisers are being charged, but The Associated Press puts the price at $3.5 million to $4 million for 30 seconds. Less than 20 years ago, a half-minute of Super Bowl ad time cost less than $1 million.
That money now buys the largest TV audience in the U.S. Last year a record of more than 111 million Americans watched the Green Bay Packers beat Pittsburgh Steelers, and many paid close attention to the dozens of commercials aired during game breaks.
This year analysts expect viewership to set another record.
(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)
“There’s nothing to compare it to. Maybe the Oscars or some of the music (awards) shows, but not really,” said Stephen Master, head of sports for Nielsen, which tracks viewership.
Master notes an upward trend that began with the 2001 game pitting the New York Giants against the Baltimore Ravens – two of the country’s largest media markets.
“Now go to last year. You have Green Bay against Pittsburgh. Two storied football programs, but not (among the largest) population areas, and you still have (double-digit) growth. That’s phenomenal,” Master said.
“The Super Bowl works for different kinds of companies. It’s a wonderful venue for companies with a new product since it builds brand awareness so quickly. But it also allows the ability to rebuild or to recast a brand,” said Tim Calkins, professor of marketing at Northwestern University.
Chrysler’s two-minute “Imported From Detroit” spot featuring rap star Eminem in last year’s game was a good example of the latter, Calkins said.
Steinberg said the success of the long ad could influence how advertisers approach the game this year.
“It probably got people (at companies) thinking ‘I can do that.’ ”
After flirting with social media, expect advertisers to go all in this year, trying to tie their spots heavily to Facebook and Twitter. It’s part of the reason advertisers are “leaking” their ads to YouTube weeks in advance of the game. The extended conversation increases the reach of the ad buy.
The recent spike in interest in the game – there was actually a lull in the late '80s and early '90s – is attributable to two things, Nielsen’s Master said.
“More women are watching. It’s not 50/50 yet, but it’s growing,” he said.
The other factor is the emergence of a Hispanic population interested in American football, a fast-growing demographic group that has been heavily courted by the NFL.
This year NBC plans to webcast the Super Bowl live, marking the first legal Internet broadcast of the game. The much-anticipated ads also will be available for online viewing, but not until after they air on the conventional broadcast.
The live webcast is expected to be more of a novelty than a major shift in the way people view the game. In previous sporting events where live webcasting has drawn large audiences, such as World Cup soccer and early rounds of March Madness college basketball, those events have featured multiple games during working hours for most Americans.
The Super Bowl is still very much a “communal activity,” Steinberg said.
“Maybe people will be watching on tablets in their attic someday,” he said.
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In the quote by Tim Calkins, professor of marketing at Northwestern University, he says that Cadillac had a two-minute spot, "Imported from Detroit." It was a Chrysler spot. So much for these know it alls.
Hi. That was an editing mistake. It's been fixed and updated. Good eye. Thanks for the catch.
Bring back the Bud Bowl
Please don't. I'd rather see the frogs before that crap.
Drinking Budweiser is like making love in a canoe ... it's F****k'ing close to water.
Having a spot in the Super Bowl might make sense for a company with a new product or needing to get their name out there. However, for an established company with an established product, it makes no sense whatsoever. For example, say Budweiser makes $0.50 profit on every can of beer. They would have to sell 8 MILLION extra cans of beer to justify one 30 second spot. I cannot believe that would happen. They should make Marketing majors take some basic math classes...
doogieK
Approximately 131 billion cans are produced each year in the United States
so 8 million cans = .06 PERCENT of all beer sold That's six one hundredth of one percent of all beer sold. In the case (no pun intended) of beer it makes perfect sense even if the profit margin was less than a nickle a can presuming they can move 1% of the market. That doesn't even include the profit from kegs and bottles.
BTW that's 422 cans of beer per man/woman/child in the USA. I would presume we export a little of that.
also $4 million spent on 111 million viewers is just over 4 cents per viewer. Can't get that even with bulk mail these days. Plus it is a targeted audience that is self selecting. No research required on who to show the advertisement to.
I stand corrected.. only 2.6 billion CASES of beer are sold in the USA annually... so about HALF of all cans made are for beer. That is still 4 cents per viewer. 8 million would only be 0.12% They need to make 10 cents a can profit to cover the cost of that 30 second spot. If my numbers are researched correctly they sell a little over 7 million CASES a day.
You are also forgetting the number of Super Bowl viewers. Over 100 mill. And not all viewers drink only one beer. So when you through that into the equation as well, then they most def made up their money.
Bud is not the only beer being sold, so making up those 8 million cans to pay ads may not be so easy.
Agreed bud is not the only beer being advertised or consumed. Still with 7 million CASES being sold EVERY day moving less than 1% total from brand X to brand Y for even ONE purchase covers the cost. Read that again CASES a day not cans.
Has anyone seen this new crystal light commercial where a plane crashes on an island? google it. the brunette... LORD the brunette!
Who do you think pays for the constant barrage of crap they are trying to sell you? I don't watch commercials and fail to see the entertainment value in them.
The Super Bowl is the only TV show during the year I watch and I watch it mostly for the commercials, so I'm in the opposite end of that boat.
And it is all tax deductible to the corporations!
As it should be since advertising is a legitimate business expense.
Can't wait to see the commercials, always the best part of the game.
First things first:
Dick-2100935 Advertising dollars are tax deductible because they are an expense whether or not the advertiser is a corporate entity or simply a local businessman. So please...I for one, amtired of this 99% vs 1% class warfare B.S., it is just a convenient excuse for some to feel sorry for themselves and/or deflect blame. Always remember, United We Stand.
JonDS The price of an item does not rise and fall based on the advertising dollars spent. That money is used to either recover or gain ground ofmarket share. And really........don't you think the E-Trade babies and those football playing Clydesdale horses are at least a little entertaining?
Finally
gsks I have to respect your choice, but when the blond says "I'm gonna get wet", it ceased to be a contest.
Now the geniuses need to change the Kick-off time to 3PM on the east coast. That will be 4PM Central, 5PM Mountain and 6PM West Coast and everyone can enjoy being together with freinds and family. Half time at 9:30 PM Central is stupid. Take a poll and see how many that start watching the game actually watch the entire second half and tell that to the advertisers.
Talk about geniuses. 3PM on the east coast is 2PM central, 1PM mountain and 12 noon Pacific. The west coast people will have to skip church to see the pre game.
Thanks for the correction. If was a big mistake but I was trying to hit the first page and escape the grammer-punctuation police at the same time. If I was a politician I would have a better excuse. It still makes sense and I don't go to church, like most others don't go to church. It still makes more sense than the start time they use. That was the point. Everyone enjoys the social aspect but leave before the game is up to take under 18's home and get a night's sleep for the next day. Can't watch the expensive commercials in the car.
I believe the kick-off is schedueled for around 6pm EST. The ads during the game itself get the big bucks.
Try living in Hawaii where the kickoff is at 1pm. I actually felt guilty for drinking before noon.
These ad people are wasting money, just because its a huge viewing doesn't mean all watch the ad's..I always leave the room on commericals.
Mike I did that math above. 111 million viewers they are spending about 7 cents per viewer. That is CHEAP advertising for a very targeted audience.
Go 1%! Go 1%! Yea 1%! Get those idiots! Another example of our sports/competition driven culture at this particular time. No wonder the Repubs are getting so much support eventhough in many cases people are voting against their own best interests. The Repubs are big into confrontation and pushing people around, very similar to say football. This is more than merely a metaphor, but is an example of how our sports insanity attitude affects how we vote.
Thats right, this is all about the 1%.(sarcasm) I am tired of this as well as the republican / democrat debate getting put into every single article. I, for one, just want to sit, watch the game and enjoy the commercials...what do i care what they paid for the ad? Go ahead and continue the good fight there Rural Washington, I'll be in front of the TV enjoying one of life's little pleasures if you would like to join me.
Eminem never did a spot for Cadillac.
I'll just watch the commercial & the last 3 minutes of the game
What a waste. I can recall just one commercial from last year's Superbore - the mini-Vader VW spot. Cute as all heck, but it didn't compell me to go out and buy a VW. The only reason I remember it is because it got some airtime on the morning shows the day after. It's the same as going to a movie theater. We get overrun with commerical after commercial before the previews begin and it's all just a blur. After the previews end I turn to my wife and ask her to name two products that were advertised and she can't recall a single one. Corporate advertising thinks they know how to push a product, but they always miss their mark. Sponsors are doing nothing but throwing away money.
rwise... it's THEIRS to throw away and if that means I get to see the game for free I'm for it. How many of us can afford the CHEAP seats at the superbowl? Whether I remember the product or not I'm happy if I get a chuckle out of at least one. I only wish that the theaters would learn their pre-preview advertisements upset the audience, mostly because we are paying to be there.
I loved the Budweiser horses playing football, the bud bowl, and didn't "Go Daddy" start their big push in a super bowl add just two years ago, now look at them, they are sponsors for race teams!!! It must work.
People that don't understand the value of a 30 second spot during the Super Bowl are complete idiots and have no sense for marketing at all. The opportunity to reach a captive audience that is actually interested and will be watching commercials is one that only presents itself during the Super Bowl. Please realize that companies advertising during this game are doing so for branding and not a call to action. The people making the executive decision to use advertising budget on this game are far more brilliant than you and I.
I don't give a crap who spends how much to advertise - I don't watch live TV. I DVR and fast forward all the commercials - and to really pound salt into the wounds that left, I don't give a crap about the super bowl. I don't like football. Or any sporting event really, it's just not fun to watch. I don't mind playing, but watching someone else play? No thanks.
Now granted, the super bowl does have a record for debuting some of the most outlandish commercials, but in the end, they're just still bids to take your money in exchange for something you may not even want to buy in the first place. So it doesn't really matter how cute, or funny, or sexy, or outright slutty an ad is, at the end of the day, it's just an ad, and I just don't care.
You want to show something worthwhile? Show us debut movie previews for upcoming blockbusters, at least one of them should be worth the ticket price.
What a buffoon!