Fox Sells Out Super Bowl Ad Inventory In Record Time

Fox officially sold out its Super Bowl inventory yesterday, selling the last ad -- a 30-second spot during the 2nd-half two-minute warning -- to an unknown advertiser. Fox had been charging a record-high $2.7M for 30-second spots, though the last few were said to be approaching $3M (John Ourand, THE DAILY).

REASONS FOR PARTICIPATION: The WALL STREET JOURNAL’s Susanne Craig writes ETrade “plans to spend as much as $4[M] for two” Super Bowl spots. The company is “keeping the ads a closely guarded secret, but they are part of a push to restore ETrade’s image and stock price, both battered by the mortgage downturn.” ETrade’s stock has fallen 83% in the past 12 months (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 1/30). Cars.com said that it will use its two Super Bowl spots to “launch a $200[M] campaign with a new tag, ‘Confidence comes standard.’” BRANDWEEK’s Steve Miller notes the spots, via DDB, Chicago, will appear during the first and third quarters and will show auto purchases “going smoothly after a visit to Cars.com.” Both spots end with an “obviously pleased consumer telling the salesman that he was glad to avoid ‘Plan B.’” Following the game the spots will air on the company’s Web site and print ads will support the campaign (BRANDWEEK.com, 1/29).

KINDER, GENTLER NATION: In a Q&A with MEDIA LIFE’s Diego Vasquez, Seton Hall Univ. advertising professor Walter Guarino said he believes this year there will be a “bumper crop of kinder and more gentle humorous spots." Vasquez: "There will be less slapstick where people get ‘injured’ for a laugh, but the trend is definitely toward ‘fun’” (MEDIALIFEMAGAZINE.com, 1/29).

UNDER REVIEW: In Chicago, Lewis Lazare reviews PepsiCo’s “Bob’s House” spot, which is slated to air during Fox’ pregame show, and gives the ad a “D.” The spot is based on a familiar joke among deaf people, and Lazare writes, “We’re happy PepsiCo was able to give its deaf staffers … some nice exposure, but it’s most unfortunate that the commercial makes no sense. After all, why would these two football fans apparently be arriving in the middle of the night to watch a football game” (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 1/30)....Nielsen will measure U.S. consumer preferences of Super Bowl ads from its new social network platform, HeyNielsen.com. Hundreds of consumers from a volunteer panel will rate the spots in real-time using a proprietary HeyNielsen.com ratings and review scale. Panelists also will be able to add their commentary (Nielsen).

AD ONS: AD AGE features a video interview with Anheuser-Busch Exec VP/Global Industry Development & Chief Creative Officer Bob Lachky, who discusses the brand’s Super Bowl successes and failures. Also, SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL this week takes a look at some of the best and worst ads in Super Bowl history. THE DAILY all week is presenting some of the most memorable Big Game spots as the Daily Download in Closing Bell (THE DAILY).