In less than a week the big players will get out on the field and put all their talent and training on the line in a bid for glory in the Super Bowl. No, I’m not talking about the Indianapolis Colts or the Chicago Bears, I’m talking about the real stars of the show: the advertisers.
Once again it’s time for that great American spectacle, the four-hour long championship game that annually blitzes the country with splashy, over-the-top commercials that everyone will be talking about the next day. According to some reports, 30-second ad spots are selling for a record $2.6 million, up slightly from last year’s record price of $2.5 million. And why wouldn’t companies pay that kind of premium? About 90 million people in the US alone are expected to tune in to the National Football League title match, making it still the biggest media event of the year.
What can we expect from this year’s competition? Most advertisers are keeping details of their campaigns close to the vest to maximize the surprise factor. Beer maker Anheuser-Busch has leaked a few details, including the fact that NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., will star in one spot, and that another will feature a couple who pick up a creepy hitchhiker. (The company claims they are not intentionally trying to ride the coat tails of the recently released remake of The Hitcher. No, of course not.)
Another Super Bowl spot that has already made headlines is a campaign by insurance company Nationwide featuring Britney Spears’ recently dumped husband, Kevin Federline. The ad plays up the company’s slogan “Life Comes at You Fast” by depicting K-Fed as a fallen rap star now working in a fast food joint. (Art imitating life, or life imitating art? You be the judge.) Funny as that might sound, the National Restaurant Association was not amused, firing off a missive saying the TV ad is a “strong and direct insult to the 12.8 million Americans who work in the restaurant industry.” Some people have no sense of humor, I guess.
There is even a rumor floating in the blogosphere that Apple is planning to run an ad to make a big announcement. Excitement is running especially high for this one because the computer maker made a big splash in 1984 with its 1984 inspired ad for the first Macintosh computer. Many point to that event as the beginning of our national love affair with Super Bowl ads. (Thanks again, Apple.)
We’ll find out Monday morning who the winners and losers were when all the morning TV shows trot out their marketing experts to show the best and the worst ads. Oh, and what about that game with the big men in pads? Whatever.
Comments
Larry Bills Says:
January 31st, 2007 at 8:51 pm
I sometimes wonder what they were smoking in the board room when they put these ads together, and nothing will ever top Pepsi’s slogan from last year that it is, “Brown and Bubbly.” I never saw that tagline again after the game. Someone got canned over that one.
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