Corporations put millions of dollars on the line to inform and entertain one of the year's largest viewing audiences, with their commercial offerings taking on a competitive edge of their own.
"When companies are paying about $80,000 per second to advertise during Super Bowl XL, you know they want to leave a lasting impression on the 130 million viewers," John Antil, associate professor of business administration in the University of Delaware's Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics and a Super Bowl advertising expert, said.
"Audiences for Super Bowls have become as interested in the 30 minutes of ads as they are in the NFL championship game," Antil said, noting that about 58 percent of viewers have indicated they would rather miss part of the game than miss any of the commercials.
"With all the hype these 30-second ads receive, both before and after the game, it is no wonder that viewers expectations have become so high," Antil said.
Despite companies' best efforts to impress, many viewers and critics have been disappointed in the commercials in recent years, Antil said, noting that those shown in 2005 seemed to draw more criticism than ever.
Part of that, he said, are increasingly conservative guidelines adopted by the networks and the National Football League, perhaps spurred by the controversy surrounding the Janet Jackson halftime performance in which she had a "wardrobe malfunction."
"Last year, most companies cut back on the attention-grabbing, edgy humor that normally is used to target the young male market," Antil said, adding that one exception was the Go Daddy Software technology company, which had its sexy 2005 commercial pulled by Fox at the behest of NFL officials after one showing.
"But Go Daddy is not giving up in 2006," Antil said. "They have already submitted eight versions of an ad that they want on this year's broadcast but, so far, ABC, which is owned by Disney and is known to have the strictest censors, has refused every version."
Antil said both the networks and the NFL believe that the Super Bowl has evolved from a young male dominated sports program to family entertainment and that the ads shown should be appropriate for this new audience.
Cost of advertising
After surveying various sources, Antil said he found the cost of ads this year seems to be more varied than in the past. "Initially, sales were brisk, with companies reportedly paying as much as $2.6 million for a 30-second spot," he said. "But to sell the remaining slots, ABC may be willing to sell a fourth quarter spot for as little as $1.7 million. Since some media buyers are willing to risk waiting to see if the network will sell heavily discounted time, ABC still has plenty of time to sell any remaining spots. One year, a buyer reported that he signed a contract for a 30-second spot in the car on the way to the game."
Though the actual price for Super Bowl spots is difficult to determine, it appears that the average price this year will be about the same as last year, $2.4 million, Antil said. Though ad prices normally increase every year, this year ABC must compete for advertising dollars with the Turin Winter Olympics, which will begin only five days after the Super Bowl.
Use of 'microsites'
Antil said several of this year's new commercials would take advantage of the Internet by incorporating web sites. "Such a strategy has already proven to be very successful with some sites getting millions of new visitors to these specially designed 'microsites,'" he said.
He cited the 2005 effort by McDonald's, which designed a campaign around a make-believe french fry that looked like Abraham Lincoln. Viewers were later allowed to bid on the four-inch plastic prop at Yahoo!, generating considerable Internet buzz and ultimately raising $75,100 for the Ronald McDonald House charity.
This year, Antil said, Burger King, Degree deodorant, CareerBuilder, Sprint, Emerald Nuts, Aleve and Nationwide will all use microsites for contests, downloads, screen savers, amusing activities and to enable viewers to see more ads, including director's cuts.
Commercial appeal
Even the NFL has recognized the entertainment value of Super Bowl commercials, Antil said, and the professional football league is assembling a 30-minute show consisting solely of Super Bowl ads and is showing it only hours after the game on the NFL Network.
As well, the league has begun to take a more active role in controlling what airs during the broadcast, Antil said. Las Vegas has been trying to get ads into the Super Bowl broadcast for years but because of the NFL's anti-gaming rules, the league will not budge. Also, Antil said the NFL does not plan to renew an $18 million sponsorship agreement with Lavitra as its commercials have become more risqué and have been targets of criticism from the public and politicians.
The half-time show is also receiving much more attention from NFL officials, and this year's show is sponsored by Nextel and will feature the Rolling Stones. Antil said that to ensure a youthful appearing audience, about 2,000 fans were offered free passes to be next to the stage, but the league limited tickets only to those fans younger than 46.
After considerable criticism, the organizers changed the rules to include those of any age that were physically fit. Antil said an NFL spokesman said the age concern was because the job was physically demanding and they "will be expected to sing, dance, cheer and enthusiastically perform for the cameras."
Super Bowl XL highlights
For twenty years, Disney has been creating its "I'm going to Disney World" commercial that airs the day after the Super Bowl. Did you ever wonder how they seem to know whom to pick as the star of these ads, which is normally the game's most valuable player? Antil said Disney contracts with about six players on each team prior to the game and then selects the player near the end of the game so they can bring their cameras onto the field to film the commercial during the final moments of the actual game. But this year, instead of waiting until the next day to see who has been selected, Disney is going to let everyone know by projecting the image of the player on the side of a skyscraper in downtown Detroit.
Some marketers are starting to see the Super Bowl as appropriate for ads directed toward women, Antil said, and this year Dove will not only show an ad directed toward women but also will deviate from the time-tested use of humor for Super Bowl ads. Dove will show an emotional ad that is designed to boost the self-esteem of young girls with the message that beauty comes in all shapes, sizes and colors.
Gillette, which is now owned by Proctor and Gamble, will continue its tradition of introducing new product launches during the Super Bowl. This year, Gillette will be promoting its new Fusion five-blade razor.
Movie studios have become one of the largest buyers of Super Bowl ad time and this year will be no exception, and Antil said views can expect to see trailers for no less than five new movies, including Shaggy Dog, Running Scared, Poseidon, V for Vendetta and 16 Blocks.
Cadillac will once again have a major presence in the Super Bowl with an expensive Broadway-type production that involves a 100-foot mirrored runway, supermodels and 250 extras. They will also lend 675 cars for use by the NFL and to shuttle VIP's around Detroit. And for the fifth year, Cadillac will sponsor the MVP Award and have an Escalade on the field during the award presentation.
Once again, Anheuser-Busch will be the largest advertiser, with 10 spots throughout the broadcast. "They are by far the most experienced advertiser on the Super Bowl and seem to have a winning formula for creating the most-liked ads," Antil said. "Most spots will continue to use humor and interesting twists at the end of the ads."
For the first time, Antil said, a Hispanic ad agency will be creating a commercial for the Super Bowl. The Toyota commercial will primarily target Hispanics and will feature the new hybrid engine for the next generation Camry. The ad will compare the engine's ability to switch from battery to gas power to a father's ability to switch between English and Spanish.
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