Value Of A Super Bowl Ad In Question During Economic Downturn

Are Super Bowl Ads Like Kia's This Year Still Worth The Cost?

The Super Bowl each year is "one of those moments when advertising reveals itself at the center of our culture and zeitgeist and is worthy of deeper thought," and the "news is not good" this year, according to Dan Neil of the L.A. TIMES. The ad community for weeks has been "buzzing about which companies are in the show and which are not." When big, "category-defining incumbents like FedEx skip the Super Bowl, it's hard not to take that as a sign of decline, or retreat." It is debatable whether the "venerable, distinctly old-school Super Bowl buy is worth it in the redrawn media landscape." While Nielsen indicated that the costs for a spot have "accelerated well past the growth of the audience," the marketing ROI is "more subtle than eyeballs divided by dollars." Buzz for a Super Bowl spot is, "in a way, priceless," and marketers have "learned by now to leverage Super Bowl buys with a coordinated seek-and-persuade campaign online, where the ads will enjoy a longer shelf life" (L.A. TIMES, 1/26). AD AGE's Brian Steinberg notes there is a "growing debate about the overall value" of the Super Bowl for advertisers. Brand-strategy firm Millward Brown Optimor contends that "investing in the game results in an immediate sales increase; consumer package goods brands can see an average sales lift of more than 11% in the month following the Super Bowl and one Super Bowl ad can be as effective as 250 more regular TV commercials." ETrade saw a 19% increase in "online applications in the week after last year's game aired compared with the average number of online applications in the first three weeks of the year." Likewise, CareerBuilder Senior Dir of Advertising Cynthia McIntyre said that the Web site over the past five years has "seen its sales increase an average of 40% each year in the three months following the Super Bowl broadcast" (AD AGE, 1/25 issue).

THINKING SMART: MARKETING DAILY's Aaron Baar reports Intel will have a presence during CBS' coverage of Super Bowl XLIV "with a commercial running in the fourth quarter, and as the title sponsor of the post-game show." Intel Senior Media Manager Thom Campbell said that Intel also will run two postgame ads. The spots, via Venables Bell & Partners, S.F., will continue the "geek humor" of the company's "Sponsors of Tomorrow" campaign that launched in May. Intel for last year's game on NBC "partnered with four other companies to enable the launch of a 3-D television commercial." But with a "new line of processors to promote, the company saw a need to go it alone this year." Baar notes title sponsorship of the Intel Super Bowl Today Post-Game Show is a "way to extend brand recognition beyond mere commercials and hedge the company's bets a bit should viewers lose interest in the game and advertising by the fourth quarter" (MARKETING DAILY, 1/26 issue).

U.S. Rep. Thinks Chrysler Should Reconsider Spending Millions On Dodge Super Bowl Ad

SPEND YOUR MONEY WISELY: U.S. Rep. Dean Heller (R-NV) registered a complaint with U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner yesterday "over Chrysler's decision to spend millions of dollars to air a commercial during the Super Bowl." Heller said that the move "seems 'extravagant' in light of Chrysler's acceptance of federal bailout funds." He asked Geithner to "get the company to reconsider" airing a 60-second ad for its Dodge brand. Chrysler officials did not comment yesterday, but a company official earlier this month said that Chrysler "saw the Super Bowl as a good opportunity" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 1/26).

ON THE LOCAL LEVEL: MillerCoors is buying a 30-second local ad in many major markets during the Super Bowl in support of its Miller High Life brand that will feature four small businesses from across the country. The commercial will feature the owners of Del's Barber Shop in Escondido, California; Tim's Baseball Card Shop in Chicago; Loretta's Authentic Pralines in New Orleans; and Bizarre Guitar & Drum in Phoenix. The ad comes via Saatchi & Saatchi, N.Y. (MillerCoors). BROADCASTING & CABLE's Claire Atkinson reports the Super Bowl is "shaping up to serve as a much-needed shot in the arm on the station level." CBS' owned-and-operated stations have been "pitching local ad buys ... to a much wider circle of advertisers than Super Bowl broadcasters have in the past." GroupM Matrix Managing Partner & Dir of Client Service Peter Gusmano indicated that this year's game "appears to be attracting much more activity than usual on the local front because of stronger pricing in national." Atkinson notes local affiliates "gain 11 or more spots to sell during the Super Bowl than their network time usually allows, with as many as five of those commercials in-game and the rest in pre- and post-programming" (BROADCASTING & CABLE, 1/25 issue).

CHANGING DIRECTION: In Pittsburgh, Teresa Lindeman reports PepsiCo instead of advertising its beverages during the Super Bowl will "pour millions of dollars into an online project meant to build connections over time by reaching consumers through blogging, Facebook and Twitter." This strategy could be a "significant moment for the digital ad evolution that's been starting and stalling and then revving up again for years." Advertisers have been "teased by the potential, struggled to keep up with the latest innovations and endlessly debated the proper balance between traditional and new marketing mediums." TNS Media Intelligence data indicated that "total marketing spending on the Internet in the first nine months of last year still trailed that of television, magazines and newspapers" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 1/26).