General Mills, maker of Wheaties, is "having second
thoughts" about airing a 30-second ad featuring Deion Sanders,
Steve Young and Michael Jordan during the Super Bowl, and is
asking NBC to sell its scheduled 4th-quarter spot, according
today's CHICAGO TRIBUNE. George Lazarus reports General Mills
will be "off the hook" if NBC can sell Wheaties' time. It is not
known whether General Mills officials are wavering due to the
$1.1M price tag "or something else." As for the spot, Lazarus
reports it "could run at other times" if not during the Super
Bowl. The ad features Sanders pushing Honey Frosted Wheaties and
Young for Crispy Wheaties 'N Raisins. Lazarus notes that
bringing the three together "may or may not help MJ and the
overall Wheaties brand reverse a recent decline" which saw sales
of regular Wheaties down 8.2% and Honey Gold Wheaties down 28.7%
over the last year (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 1/17).
FORD'S PALANC-ING ACT: In other Super Bowl ad news, Ford
will use its 60-second spot during the game to feature an ad with
actor Jack Palance "as part of its introductory effort for the
redesigned '97 F-150 pickup." AD AGE ONLINE reports Ford will
back the debut of the truck "with its biggest truck ad launch
ever" -- a $60M budget and buys in magazines such as Sports
Illustrated, Time, Newsweek, Field & Stream, and Sports Afield.
Ford will also purchase auto exclusivity in the Super Bowl
weekend edition of USA Weekend (AD AGE ONLINE, 1/17). Today's
USA TODAY "Super Bowl Ad Watch" features Palance's spot, in which
he tells viewers: "Better get to the Grand Canyon -- before we
do" (USA TODAY, 1/17). CNBC's Sue Herera also reported on the
Ford/Palance campaign, noting the ad showcases Ford's newest
truck with Palance in action saving a heard of cattle (CNBC,
1/16).
