According to MD-based Eisner & Associates Advertising's
annual study, 7% of U.S. adults will watch the Super Bowl
"just" to see the ads. That has jumped from 4% in '97 and
means over 10,000,000 people watch the Super Bowl solely to
see the commercials. The study also found that those paying
more attention to the ads, even if the contest is decided
early, have increased from 51% in '97 to 55% in '98. Of the
expected viewers, 22% will watch many (36-58) of the 58
Super Bowl ads; 23% will watch some (16-35); 22% will not
watch many (1-15); and 33% will not watch any of the 58 ads
or not watch the game at all. The study was conducted among
1,000 households nationwide after the Super Bowl teams were
determined and has a 3.5% margin of error (Eisner & Assoc).
SUPER SUNDAY: The 30-plus Super Bowl advertisers will
pay $43,333 for each second of ad time during Sunday's
broadcast, according to Stuart Elliott of the N.Y. TIMES.
Elliott reports that "mainstays" like automakers, fast food
and sneaker companies, "are giving way to an unconventional
combination of advertisers high and low," including computer
chips and software, telecom products and services, Internet
shopping and satellite TV equipment (N.Y. TIMES, 1/23). In
Boston, Chris Reidy writes "there seems to be no overarching
theme" to this year's ads (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/23). MSNBC's
Keith Olbermann, juxtaposing the Super Bowl to the events
involving President Clinton: "Hello, good evening, and
welcome from San Diego, site of a decreasingly relevant
Super Bowl XXXII come this Sunday" ("The Big Show," 1/22).
THE PLAYERS: In Orlando, Jim Abbott reports some of
this year's "most anticipated spots" are A-B's Louie the
Lizard plotting to rid the world of the Budweiser frogs;
Pepsi's Gen-X body-piercing spot and a gnat doing a Mick
Jagger impersonation for Pepsi's Lipton Brisk iced tea; and
Nike's "The Evolution of Skin" featuring "seemingly naked
images of" Lisa Leslie, David Robinson and Michael Johnson
(ORLANDO SENTINEL, 1/23)....CA-based Pocket Pump owners Rob
Lange and Chuck Davey will show off their invention, via a
30-second spot, courtesy of Mail Boxes Etc.'s "See Your
Small Business on the Super Bowl Search" contest. The
Pocket Pump is an air pump designed to inflate sports balls
(THE DAILY)....In Atlanta, Mickey Gramig reports that Coca-
Cola is "spreading its Super Bowl ad dollars across the
globe through sponsorship of MTV's 'Rock-N-Jock' Super Bowl
weekend programming." The MTV event, "designed to reach
teenagers not tuned in to the game, will feature more than"
30 spots featuring Coca-Cola products (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION,
1/23)....CA-based Auto-By-Tel returns after running a spot
last year. Auto-By-Tel CEO Pete Ellis: "Our business
increased by about 50% and that never dropped below that
number. We had a big bump in business" (CNBC, 1/22).
