Many Super Bowl advertisers are keeping their creative
spots "unusually simple," perhaps because of the "soaring
cost of buying" Super Bowl ad time, according to USA TODAY's
Melanie Wells. While "humor's still big," there "may be
even fewer celebrities than usual" in the spots seen on
Sunday (USA TODAY, 1/25). Fox Sports Senior VP/Media
Relations Vince Wladika said that "just one [in-game] spot
remains to be sold" for the game (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 1/25).
AD SKINNY: USA TODAY's Melanie Wells reports that Apple
Computer "is back" as a Super Bowl advertiser, 15 years
after its '84 spot. Sixty seconds of ad time will "boast"
that the company's computers "will be unaffected" by the
Year 2000 issue (USA TODAY, 1/25). In N.Y., Stuart Elliott
reports that the WWF's Super Bowl spot, created in-house,
"delivers a sassy retort to critics who complain about the
pervasive violence and vulgar sexual imagery in wrestling."
WWF Chair Vince McMahon said the spot "will have a bit of
shock value." Wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin says in the
spot, "Most people have the wrong impression of the WWF.
We're a nonviolent form of entertainment." Austin then
"hits a passerby with a chair" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/25).
IN MIAMI: In Ft. Lauderdale, Cherry, Weaver & Snel
noted a SUN-SENTINEL analysis showing that South Floridians
"looking for a 1999 economic windfall" from Super Bowl
XXXIII "could have a hard time finding it." The report
shows that "there were no profound spikes" in economic
indicators such as sales tax income and hotel occupancy
rates in '89 and '95, when the event was also held in Miami
(SUN-SENTINEL, 1/24). In Miami, Linda Robertson reports
that up to 200 corporations "are expected to take part in
the Super Bowl extravaganza," as a "handful of the biggest
companies" entertain as many as 400 people and spend $5M,
while "smaller businesses wine and dine" a half dozen
clients and spend $15,000. NFLP has reserved 3,000 hotel
rooms. NJ-based ISI puts on Thursday's Super Bowl Charities
Golf Tournament, and reps from Burger King, Cadillac, Disney
and the NTRA will be greeted by ISI clients Boomer Esiason,
Jake Plummer, Steve Young and Warren Moon at a 400-person
brunch on Sunday hosted by the company (MIAMI HERALD, 1/25).
DON'T CHOKE ABOUT THIS CAMPAIGN: In FL, Alan Snel
profiled the $500,000-750,000 "Where's Garo?" campaign,
which was conceived by FL-based Sports & Sponsorship
President Scott Becher and is based on former Dolphins K
Garo Yepremian's famous botched pass in Super Bowl VII. The
campaign launched Saturday at eight Sprint PCS stores in
South FL. South FL Sprint PCS Marketing Manager Steven
Epstein, referring to the play: "Who would have thought 26
years ago that they would build an advertising campaign
around the play?" (Ft. Lauderdale SUN-SENTINEL, 1/24).
AND THE WINNER IS: Visa's ad featuring 49ers Steve
Young and Jerry Rice was named the best ad with a football
theme by the NFL QB Club. Second place in the voting, held
last week in N.Y., went to the DirecTV ad featuring QBs in
shopping carts, with Southwest Airline's "Must Be Football
Season" spot earning third (JOURNAL SENTINEL, 1/23).
