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It all ads up for Super Bowl
07 February 2010 By Linda Maher
For those outside the US, it can be hard to fathom just how big a deal Super Bowl commercials are. Even diehard NFL fans who claim to have little time for the much-hyped halftime show or the ad breaks find it impossible to avoid both in the big game build-up.
While team updates are confined to the sports bulletins, stories about Super Bowl commercials will often feature in the news segments. PR supremos will drip-feed information about this year’s ads to various news sources for weeks in advance, and many of the ads will be among the most popular hits on YouTube for weeks after the game.
At $2.5 million to $2.8 million for a 30-second slot, advertisers know that their commercial must be memorable if it is to achieve any impact. This forces many of them to invest millions of dollars more when making the ads.
While companies outside the US baulk at the price of the ads, the going rate is actually a reduction on last year’s charges - only the second time in the game’s history that the price has fallen.
Last year’s game generated $213 million in advertising revenue from commercials alone. That was a 14 per cent increase from 2008’s $186.3 million.
Last year’s Super Bowl had a record 98.7 million viewers in the US, which could go some way towards explaining why companies are willing to part with such vast sums for a short commercial.
Several celebrities will feature in ads this year, including Beyoncé, Chevy Chase and Kiss, pushing the price of the ads even higher. Budweiser, Audi and Coca-Cola are generally among the companies with the most highly-anticipated ads - and this year is no exception.
Anheuser-Busch created a stir last week when it announced its line-up for this year’s ads. None featured the Budweiser Clydesdales, as the companys aid the ad hadn’t tested well. However, following several social networking campaigns, a re-edited version of the ad will now be shown.
While Coca-Cola will have several spots during tonight’s game - including one featuring the Simpsons - rival Pepsi has decided not to run any ads this year. It said that it would instead use the money in a social media campaign to promote its Pepsi Refresh initiative, under which it will give away $20 million in grants to fund social projects.
As major corporations continue their push for audience share, the advert that has generated the most publicity is based on a controversial social issue.
Focus on the Family, a pro-life group, has an ad which features Florida Gators’ college quarterback Tim Tebow. In the ad, his mother explains how she was advised to get an abortion and declined.
The ad has been pre-empted by an ad from pro-choice group Planned Parenthood, in which two former professional athletes - Olympic gold medallist Al Joyner and former NFL player Sean James - call for the ‘‘respect of women’s choices’’.
Game on
So to on-the-pitch matters. Super Bowl XLIV will feature the Indianapolis Colts against the New Orleans Saints in the Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The Saints are in the Super Bowl for the first time, while it is the fourth appearance for the Colts, who lost in 1969 and won in 1971 and 2007.
The appearance of both teams in the event is testament to their consistent dominance of the league this year - it is the first time in 16 years that the number one seeds of each conference have reached the Super Bowl.
Most of the pre-game hype has centred on the Colts’ leading pass rusher, Dwight Freeney, who has been assessing an ankle injury on a day-today basis for the past two weeks. It is still not known whether he will feature in tonight’s game.
The Colts are favourites for victory, at 10/21 with Paddy Power, with the Saints at 7/4.The Colts’ Peyton Manning is 2/3 to be MVP in the game.
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