Super Bowl Ad Sales Weathering the Storm
It’s no surprise that in the midst of economic chaos, some companies are thinking twice about anteing up for Super Bowl ads. At the $3 million for a 30-second spot NBC is charging, some advertisers are skittish.
But an NFL source reports that the league is poised to unveil a roster of new Super Bowl sponsors this week. Based on the record-setting 97.4 million viewers who tuned in last year’s classic tilt between the New York Giants and New England Patriots, most sponsors are staying the course and paying the rate hike from the $2.7 million Fox charged for last year’s spots.
FedEx is reportedly among the undecided. Salesgenie.com is dropping out – but then, its ad drew some of the worst reviews of this year’s crop. The fact that ads in the big game elicit such intense and protracted scrutiny before and after the game’s final whistle is a prime reason that NBC has sold out 85% of its inventory for the game – most of it by early September, before the economic crisis kicked in with full force.
Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Hyundai, and online players Cars.com, CareerBuilder.com and GoDaddy.com – which traditionally gets pre-game traction from its rejected ad submissions – are all buying in again. Viacom’s Paramount Pictures is leading a list of Hollywood studios that will apparently push new releases during the TV time-outs.
The Super Bowl appears be the most recession-resistant TV sports property on any network schedule. The only remaining questions is whether NBC tops the $3 million mark in selling any last-minute spots still available, or modifies its Cadillac pricing.
For the biggest game in town, the smart money says there won’t be any fire sale after the buzz from the Giants-Pats barn-burner.
