I Only Watch the Superbowl for the Ads

by Ella Keeven | Editor | The Daily Anchor

Ok, no not really, but sort of. I like football and I love advertising. I think many of you can openly admit that you only watch the Superbowl for the ads. Advertisers live for this day. But here we are in the midst of a recession and Superbowl XLIII is just around the corner. Thousands of layoffs have been announced in the past 2 weeks alone and major corporations are cutting costs. So how are this years’ commercials going to pan out compared to years past? And is it ok to be spending this type of money on an over-the-top Superbowl ad campaign during a recession?

It is kind of a catch-22 in the marketing and advertising world; this is your chance to hit 100 million viewers simultaneously, but you don’t have the budget to do it or it just doesn’t make sense during these times. Although advertising and marketing are usually the first to get cut when there is a downturn in the economy, we have created a society that depends on it and expects it. And while we may see a shift in the message of each ad during Superbowl XLIII, this could also be the best place for some to spend their ad dollars.

Most of these ad deals were secured before the financial meltdown hit in the fall, but it’s been reported that the traditional big-budgeted game-day advertisers such as GM, Chrysler and FedEX won’t be partaking this year. Old favorites such as Anheuser-Busch and Pepsi are staying put and there are even some first timers, such as Pedigree pet food, in the mix. NBC says 90% of Superbowl ads have been sold as of mid-January at $3 million per 30 second slot (an all-time-high price.)

During these tough times, how are advertisers going to use that 30 second slot?

A good ad connects with the audience and this year people are most concerned about making ends meet. Generally we see an onslaught of vehicle launches during the Superbowl. While GM is out this year, Hyundai is in with 2 slots. One of which will be the launch of a new vehicle in a commercial featuring Yo-Yo Ma playing a piece by Bach that viewers can re-edit online. But now Hyundai is thinking about using one the other slot to promote a new incentive which forgives auto loans for car buyers that lose their income with in one year of purchase. Sounds like a sweet deal.

Instead of buying a new car, why not fix the one you have? Bridgestone and Castrol Motor Oil are using this time when car sales are down to drive more business.

Budweiser, on the other hand, is looking to cheer you up and take your mind off these depressing times. With nine ad slots this year, they are going to be sure to make you laugh and have brought on funny man Conan O’Brien, amongst other things, to do it.

What will be on a majority of viewers minds after once the game is over?

Employment. Making this the perfect opportunity for CareerBuilder.com and Monster.com to swoop in and save us all! Well, maybe not save us, but after the beer and chicken wings have digested, these two will still be fresh in our minds thanks to their $3 million ad spend.

The bottom line is that despite our crappy economy, Bud still has to sell beer, Fido needs to be fed and we need to use some mode of transportation to get from A to B.  While I do enjoy the game of football in all it’s American glory, I can say that this year I am much more interested in seeing the Superbowl ads than in years past mainly to see how advertisers will target their consumers (and not so much the hoopla that goes with a Superbowl ad.) To see list of advertisers and how they will be luring us all in during Superbowl XLII, USA Today breaks it down.

Tagged as: Ads, Advertising, Superbowl, TV Advertising