GM Idea Of Having Cars Pop Up In Other Super Bowl Ads Could Cause Some Problems

GM Global CMO Joel Ewanick's idea to have GM cars appear in other Super Bowl advertisers’ spots “is fanciful, daring and creative,” but putting it into practice “would not only usurp the authority of NBC … but also make it nearly impossible for GM rivals to get an effective word in edgewise,” according to Brian Steinberg of AD AGE. The big three U.S. automakers for decades “have routinely safeguarded their TV commercials by making sure no domestic competitor appears in the same ad break.” Having GM cars appear in other sponsors' commercials “would further complicate the situation.” Steinberg: “Imagine having to figure out where Chrysler might place an ad in the Super Bowl if GM has purchased several minutes of its own ad time and then sprinkled product appearances in something from GoDaddy.com ... or even Anheuser-Busch.” The assignment “would be daunting.” NBC Sports Senior VP/Sports & Olympic Sales Seth Winter on the matter said, "We don't allow for the 'co-opting' of advertising." Steinberg noted earlier rumors about the effort had suggested GM “was offering a cool $500,000 for the unusual integration.” The result could be “a wild ‘Where's Waldo’-esque promotion that would send consumers to their fast-forward and rewind buttons to find drive-bys in ads and get rewards like snacks or movies”  (ADAGE.com, 1/4).

WORTH THE COST: A 30-second ad in NBC's telecast of the Feb. 5 game costs an average of $3.5M, and Horizon Media Senior VP & Dir of Research Brad Adgate said it has become worth it for companies to spend that money "because there's nothing else like it on television." He noted the Super Bowl the last few years has been "really exciting, down to the last minute, and that's what really brings in the viewers and keeps them there and that's what you're looking for." The Super Bowl is a "communal event" and viewers are "talking as much about the advertising the next day as they are about the game." Adgate: "Increasingly, the Super Bowl is becoming more and more of a unique event despite all of the fractualization that's going on in the TV landscape and video landscape. The Super Bowl has actually increased their audience year after year" ("Street Smart," Bloomberg TV, 1/3). The Wall Street Journal's Suzanna Vranica said that the cost of a Super Bowl ad "actually is cheap," as it "pays for itself." Vranica: "Now with the Internet, you basically are getting more traction." The $3.5M cost "is a lot of money, but if you sort of monetize that out and realize what you're getting in terms of publicity, online, the traction that you get, it's well worth it." Vranica: "It's totally a no-brainer" (MARKETWATCH.com, 1/3). Fox Business' Dennis Kneale said of NBC selling out of Super Bowl ad inventory, "One thing it shows you ... is that an era of the DVR and On-Demand TV and appointment television to watch what you want whenever you want, live events like the Super Bowl are unparalleled. It is the biggest ratings grabber and also if you're an advertiser, you've got to be in it" (Fox Business, 1/3).