CBS said it has commitments for more than 90% of its available commercial inventory for its Feb 3 Super Bowl telecast, and CBS President & Chief Advertising Revenue Officer Jo Ann Ross said that the net has seen "good demand from automakers, movie studios, beer and soda marketers and technology companies," according to Brian Steinberg of VARIETY. CBS Exec VP/Sports Sales & Marketing John Bogusz added that ads in the third quarter have "sold out, with scattered availability in the first half of the game and some openings in the fourth quarter." Ross noted that CBS has also "secured a title sponsor for each pre-game and post-game hour of programming." Sources said that CBS has been seeking between $5.1-5.3M for a "package of inventory that often includes a 30-second TV ad and some digital inventory" (VARIETY.com, 1/10). Ross and Bogusz each said some of the new advertisers and categories will surprise, but they were not at liberty to disclose them because of a high number of non-disclosure agreements signed with the brands (Daniel Kaplan, THE DAILY).
FREEZING POINT: ADWEEK's Kristina Monllos reported Kraft-Heinz' frozen food brand Devour will "make its Super Bowl debut this year with a 30-second spot in the third quarter," with David, Miami, "handling creative." Springboard Brands Marketing & Sales Lead and Kraft-Heinz Associate Dir Katy Marshall "declined to comment on other Kraft-Heinz plans" for the Super Bowl (ADWEEK.com, 1/10). AD AGE's Jessica Wohl noted it "appears that Devour will be the first frozen meal brand to have a Super Bowl commercial." Devour's spot "comes a year after Kraft Heinz promoted the Kraft brand with a crowdsourced 'Family Greatly' spot." Heinz also ran Super Bowl spots in '14 and '16 (ADAGE.com, 1/10).
RETURN ENGAGEMENT: AD AGE's Jeanine Poggi reported Persil ProClean will "return to the Super Bowl with its fourth consecutive spot." The Henkel laundry detergent brand "will bring back 'The Professional' character" played by actor Peter Hermann. Meanwhile, Colgate "unveiled more details about its Super Bowl ad, which will spotlight its Total oral-care brand." The ad stars actor Luke Wilson and was "shot in a hyper-realistic style with film-quality detail" (ADAGE.com, 1/10).
OPEN-DOOR POLICY: Ross said that while CBS' in-game avails are "selling like the proverbial flapjacks, her team 'never says the game is sold out.'" AD AGE's Anthony Crupi noted much of that has to do with the "time-honored practice of holding back one or two final units in order to accommodate a last-minute buy." Movie studios have a "tendency to bluster into the Super Bowl at the zero hour." Keeping the door open on a game-day sale is "particularly profitable when a studio is making the investment." Moviemakers are "notorious spendthrifts, an inevitable byproduct of a business in which more money is invested in promotional activity than in the actual production." Studio marketing execs also "tend to make late buys by virtue of necessity; in many cases, the final creative is only made available to the host network as the stadium is filling up with fans" (ADAGE.com, 1/10).
