Fox is ready to "reel in a staggering" $150M on Super
Bowl Sunday by turning the game "into an even bigger all-day
event -- making it the largest day in ad revenue for any
network," according to Wayne Friedman of AD AGE. Of the
$150M Fox will earn from Super Bowl ad revenue, "about" $45M
will come from pregame inventory, with about $93M in-game
ads already sold. Friedman notes that NBC received $10-15M
from pregame ads last year. Fox also "hopes to make
another" $2-4M from its postgame show, or $700,000-800,000
per 30-second spot. Fox is selling "large TV commercial
packages to four, possibly five, advertisers" for pregame
coverage (AD AGE, 1/18 issue). USA TODAY'S Bruce Horovitz
wrote that marketers "clearly ... are buying into the
concept" of pregame advertising, as Super Bowl programing
stretches all day. Fox President of Broadcasting Sales Jon
Nesvig said that 80% of the 150 pregame slots in its 7 1/2
hours of pregame programming "are already sold." Nesvig:
"We'll bill as much in half a day as the network billed in
an entire year 10 years ago." Media First Int'l Richard
Kostyra said advertisers like the pregame buy because, "You
can look like you're in the big leagues, but for a lot less
money." Horovitz reported that 30-second pregame spots
"closer to game time could" cost almost $1M. Among some
pregame advertisers: Qantas, which will air a new spot about
an hour before kickoff; Blockbuster, which will have 15
pregame and one in-game spot; and Pizza Hut, which "won't
make a peep during the game," but will air 17 pregame spots
and "expects" to sell 2.2 million pizzas on game day. Pizza
Hut marketing exec Randy Gier: "We want to get into their
heads before they make their orders" (USA TODAY, 1/18). In
N.Y., Richard Sandomir puts Fox's "gross" at $180M in ad
revenue for Super Bowl Sunday, including the Fox net and its
22 O&Os. Some advertisers are paying as little as $60,000
for a 30-second pregame spot (N.Y. TIMES, 1/19). DAILY
VARIETY's Richard Morgan reports that Fox "has only two of
58 in-game ad slots left," but it expects the rest of its
inventory to move "as early as this week." Apple Computer
backed out of its in-game buy, but Fox "is simply re-
shopping" the spot at a "per-eyeball rate" (VARIETY, 1/19).
FOR THE EARLY AD LINE: AD AGE lists its Super Bowl ad
roster, including creative and placement (AD AGE, 1/18).
MIAMI NOTES: BRANDWEEK's Terry Lefton reports that in
an effort "to influence the many media buyers" in Miami for
the Super Bowl, Fox will use transit, outdoor and on-premise
items to tout its "top-rated" pregame show (BRANDWEEK,
1/18). PA-based Jeremy's MicroBatch Ice Creams was selected
by San Diego-based Mail Boxes, Etc. as its "entrepreneur of
the year" in its second annual "See Your Small Business on
the Super Bowl Search." The company wins $5,000 and a 30-
second spot during the second quarter (BRANDWEEK, 1/18
issue)....The Falcons have elected to wear their home black
jerseys, meaning the Broncos will wear white (DENVER POST,
1/19)....In Miami, Paul Brinkley-Rogers reported that ticket
brokers are selling Super Bowl end-zone seats at Pro Player
Stadium for $1,650 and up, midfield seats for "more than"
$3,000 and club-level seats for $5,000. The tickets' face
value range from $325-400 (MIAMI HERALD, 1/18)....Falcons
gear in GA is hot. All 180 Falcons NFC Championship T-
shirts ordered by Champs Sports in Duluth "were gone within
an hour." The "hottest" selling T-shirt at The Sports
Authority in Marietta, GA, was the official Starter locker
room T-shirt bearing an image of the Super Bowl tickets.
Stadium Stuff store in Atlanta said it sold about 2,500 T-
shirts and 2,200 hats (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 1/19).
