Advertising in the Super Bowl
Encyclopedia
The Super Bowl
, the championship game of the National Football League
in the United States, is known for the high-profile advertisements that air during its television broadcast in the U.S. The broadcast typically ranks very highly in the Nielsen ratings
, reaching more than 90 million viewers. Prices for advertising space can typically cost millions of dollars; 30 seconds of advertising time during the 2010 telecast is expected to cost US $
2.6 million dollars.
The high price tag of the commercials all but promises that they will be spectacular and innovative in most cases. The commercials are often highly anticipated, generating much buzz even before the game is played usually because of their innovation or sense of humor.
, which allows viewers to skip over the commercials. While this is an issue with most scripted programming, which can be recorded and replayed at will, the Super Bowl is a live event that loses its value if delayed, and one cannot fast-forward into the future. As television audiences have continued to fracture with the increasing number of subscription television channels, the Super Bowl has become one of the few events that can consistently draw a critical mass
of viewers (and thus potential customers). As such, the network that owns the right to the Super Bowl can charge a premium on the advertising during the game, to the point where marketers have raised concerns that Super Bowl advertising has become so expensive that it does not positively impact an advertiser's market share.
In 2010, the average cost of a 30-second commercial was (according to CBS
, the network that televised Super Bowl XLIV
that year) approximately US $2.5-2.8 Million. This excludes costs and fees for actors, equipment, ad agencies, directors, crew and other personnel. Reuters has confirmed that the 2011 Super Bowl commercials will cost around $3 million dollars for a 30 second spot. Many times companies will go through a phase of pre-event advertising in order to hype up their own ad campaigns. In doing so some companies can create an anticipation for their commercials that is almost the same as the actual event itself.
outside the U.S., other carriers have smaller audiences for the game, meaning that the ads seen locally may not share the high reputation of those seen on the American network.
regulations set out by the CRTC, if a local over-the-air television station is carrying a particular program at the same time as an American network, the local station has the right to request that its signal replace the foreign network feed, including all commercials. No exception is made for the Super Bowl (the Canadian rights to which are currently held by the CTV
network).
Some U.S.-based advertisers, particularly PepsiCo
and Anheuser-Busch
(via its Canadian licensee Labatt), do buy ad time during the CTV broadcast to air at least some of their American commercials, while some companies produce new ads specifically for the Canadian audience. However, many Canadian advertisers simply re-air ads from their regular rotation, or air the same ad multiple times over the course of the game, neither of which is typical during the U.S. network broadcast.
Some Canadian stations, after airing the Super Bowl, choose to air the U.S. commercials during their local newscasts, to show their audiences what they presumably missed.
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
, the championship game of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
in the United States, is known for the high-profile advertisements that air during its television broadcast in the U.S. The broadcast typically ranks very highly in the Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, reaching more than 90 million viewers. Prices for advertising space can typically cost millions of dollars; 30 seconds of advertising time during the 2010 telecast is expected to cost US $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
2.6 million dollars.
The high price tag of the commercials all but promises that they will be spectacular and innovative in most cases. The commercials are often highly anticipated, generating much buzz even before the game is played usually because of their innovation or sense of humor.
History
There has been much concern about the viewing of commercials because of the use of products such as TiVoTiVo
TiVo is a digital video recorder developed and marketed by TiVo, Inc. and introduced in 1999. TiVo provides an on-screen guide of scheduled broadcast programming television programs, whose features include "Season Pass" schedules which record every new episode of a series, and "WishList"...
, which allows viewers to skip over the commercials. While this is an issue with most scripted programming, which can be recorded and replayed at will, the Super Bowl is a live event that loses its value if delayed, and one cannot fast-forward into the future. As television audiences have continued to fracture with the increasing number of subscription television channels, the Super Bowl has become one of the few events that can consistently draw a critical mass
Critical mass (sociodynamics)
Critical mass is a sociodynamic term to describe the existence of sufficient momentum in a social system such that the momentum becomes self-sustaining and creates further growth....
of viewers (and thus potential customers). As such, the network that owns the right to the Super Bowl can charge a premium on the advertising during the game, to the point where marketers have raised concerns that Super Bowl advertising has become so expensive that it does not positively impact an advertiser's market share.
In 2010, the average cost of a 30-second commercial was (according to CBS
NFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
, the network that televised Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV
Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion New Orleans Saints to decide the National Football League champion for the 2009 season. The Saints defeated the Colts by a score of...
that year) approximately US $2.5-2.8 Million. This excludes costs and fees for actors, equipment, ad agencies, directors, crew and other personnel. Reuters has confirmed that the 2011 Super Bowl commercials will cost around $3 million dollars for a 30 second spot. Many times companies will go through a phase of pre-event advertising in order to hype up their own ad campaigns. In doing so some companies can create an anticipation for their commercials that is almost the same as the actual event itself.
International broadcasts
The high-profile Super Bowl ads discussed in this article are usually only broadcast on the originating American network. This is because the cost of buying commercial time on the American network does not include ad time on foreign broadcasters, which sell their own advertising (or, in some cases, do not carry advertising at all). Those companies could theoretically buy commercial time on the international networks carrying the game, but many do not operate (or sell the particular products advertised) outside the United States. Moreover, since there is lower interest in American footballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
outside the U.S., other carriers have smaller audiences for the game, meaning that the ads seen locally may not share the high reputation of those seen on the American network.
Canada
Complaints about the non-availability of the U.S. Super Bowl ads are common in Canada since, even though American network affiliates are widely available via cable and satellite television, the U.S. ads are still "blacked out" in most areas in favor of domestic commercials. Under Canadian simultaneous substitutionSimultaneous substitution
Simultaneous substitution is a practice mandated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission requiring Canadian cable, direct broadcast satellite and multichannel multipoint distribution service television distribution companies to substitute the signal of a foreign or...
regulations set out by the CRTC, if a local over-the-air television station is carrying a particular program at the same time as an American network, the local station has the right to request that its signal replace the foreign network feed, including all commercials. No exception is made for the Super Bowl (the Canadian rights to which are currently held by the CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
network).
Some U.S.-based advertisers, particularly PepsiCo
PepsiCo
PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company...
and Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. , is an American brewing company. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and 18 in other countries. It was, until December 2009, also one of America's largest theme park operators; operating ten theme parks across the United States through the...
(via its Canadian licensee Labatt), do buy ad time during the CTV broadcast to air at least some of their American commercials, while some companies produce new ads specifically for the Canadian audience. However, many Canadian advertisers simply re-air ads from their regular rotation, or air the same ad multiple times over the course of the game, neither of which is typical during the U.S. network broadcast.
Some Canadian stations, after airing the Super Bowl, choose to air the U.S. commercials during their local newscasts, to show their audiences what they presumably missed.
Notable commercials
- 1973 – The first famous Super Bowl commercial was for NoxzemaNoxzemaNoxzema is a skin cleanser marketed by Alberto-Culver. Alberto-Culver bought the rights to the brand in 2008 from Procter & Gamble and now owns and operates the line of skin-care products...
featuring legendary New York Jets quarterback Joe NamathJoe NamathJoseph William "Joe" Namath , nicknamed "Broadway Joe" or "Joe Willie", is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the University of Alabama under coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and his assistant, Howard Schnellenberger, from 1962–1964, and professional football in the...
. - 1973 – Master LockMaster LockMaster Lock is an American company primarily known for developing and manufacturing padlocks, combination locks and related security products. Now an operating unit of Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc., Master Lock Company LLC was formed in 1921 by locksmith-inventor Harry Soref, and is...
ran the first of their long-running advertisements showing a sharpshooter shooting at and hitting a Master Lock in a failed attempt to open the lock. - 1977 – XeroxXeroxXerox Corporation is an American multinational document management corporation that produced and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...
introduced the 9200 high speed duplicator system with Brother Dominic duplicating documents in a medieval monastery. - 1980 – A spot for Coca-ColaCoca-ColaCoca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
featuring Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro defensive lineman "Mean Joe" GreeneJoe Greene (American football)Charles Edward Greene, known as “Mean Joe” Greene, is a former all-pro American football defensive tackle who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL. Throughout the early 1970s he was the one of most dominant defensive players in the National Football League...
, who is offered a Coca-Cola by a young fan and tosses the kid his game-worn jersey as repayment. However, it is technically not viewed as a Super Bowl ad since it actually debuted on October 1, 1979, not during the day of the game. - 1984 – Perhaps the most renowned Super Bowl ad ever, the ad for Apple's Macintosh followed a 1984Nineteen Eighty-FourNineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a dystopian novel about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchical dictatorship of the Party...
theme. Directed by Ridley ScottRidley ScottSir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists , Alien , Blade Runner , Legend , Thelma & Louise , G. I...
, the ad featured a woman wearing track-and-field clothing sprinting into a large auditorium and hurling a large hammer into a screen right before security guards can subdue her. On the screen was a large Big Brother-type of face speaking to a massive assembly of drone-like people. His last words were "We shall prevail," before the screen explodes and leaves the audience enraptured in gazing at the spectacle. The ad ran just one more time on television, perhaps compounding its renown. - 1985 – Generally considered unsuccessful, the Apple "lemmings" ad is shown featuring many PC users walking to their doom over a cliff.
- 1990 – Ridley ScottRidley ScottSir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists , Alien , Blade Runner , Legend , Thelma & Louise , G. I...
directed an ad for the Nissan 300ZXNissan 300ZXThe Z31 chassis designation was first introduced in 1983 as a 1984 Nissan/Datsun 300ZX in the US only. The 300ZX, as its predecessors, was known as a Nissan in other parts of the world. This continued in the US until 1985 model year when Nissan standardized their brand name worldwide and dropped...
Twin Turbo. The ad depicts a dream sequence with the driver in a Twin Turbo 300ZX, competing against an unknown enemy. First the 300ZX races a motorbike, then a race car, and finally a jet fighter plane. At that point the plane is about to catch up to the 300ZX before the two turbochargers of the 300ZX "kick in", greatly increasing engine power and the car accelerates away from the plane. The ad was only run once due to complaints that it promoted street racing. Nissan ran another popular Super Bowl ad for the 300ZX in 1995. - 1993 – In perhaps his most famous ad, Michael JordanMichael JordanMichael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
and Larry BirdLarry BirdLarry Joe Bird is a former American NBA basketball player and coach. Drafted into the NBA sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird started at small forward and power forward for thirteen seasons, spearheading one of the NBA's most formidable frontcourts that included center Robert Parish...
play a game of HORSE for a McDonald'sMcDonald'sMcDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
Big Mac and French fries. The game is made more interesting due to the increasingly complex set of obstacles set for both players. Another Michael JordanMichael JordanMichael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
ad featured him and Bugs BunnyBugs BunnyBugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
playing basketball against Marvin the MartianMarvin the MartianMarvin the Martian is a fictional character appearing in the Looney Tunes cartoons. Marvin's likeness appears in miniature on the Spirit rover on Mars.-Conception and creation:...
. This commercial inspired Warner Brothers to create Space JamSpace JamAside from Jordan, a number of NBA players and coaches appeared in the film. Larry Bird portrays a friend of Jordan who joins him for a game of golf. When the Monstars steal the NBA players' talent, they invade a game between the Phoenix Suns and the New York Knicks, causing the Knicks' Patrick...
. - 1995 – Nissan again ran a commercial for the 300ZX (which they advertised in 1990). The ad featured the car as a toy driven by a G.I. Joe picking up a Barbie-like doll. Despite being a popular advertisement, Mattel successfully sued Nissan to take the ad off TV.
- 2000 – Year of the dot comDot-com bubbleThe dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...
commercials. - 2002 - BudweiserBudweiserBudweiser is a German adjective describing something or someone from the city of České Budějovice in Southern Bohemia, Czech Republic.Beer brewing in České Budějovice dates back to the 13th century...
produced a commercial featuring the Budweiser ClydesdalesBudweiser ClydesdalesThe Budweiser Clydesdales are a group of Clydesdale horses used for promotions and commercials by the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Company. There are six "hitches" or teams of horses, five that travel around the United States and one that remains in their official home at the company headquarters at the...
(titled "Clydesdale Respect") as a tribute to the terrorist attacks of 9/11. The commercial shows the horses walking across the Brooklyn bridgeBrooklyn BridgeThe Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
into New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. They then stopped, gazed at the ruined New York skyline, and bowed in reverence and respect. The commercial aired only once, but was available on the website for a period of one year. - 2009 – Joe and Dave Herbert from Batesville, Indiana create a DoritosDoritosDoritos is a brand of seasoned tortilla chips created by Arch West and produced since 1964 by the American food company Frito-Lay ....
commercial where one employee makes a wish come true by throwing a snow globeSnow globeA snow globe is a transparent sphere, usually made of glass, enclosing a miniaturized scene of some sort, often together with a model of a landscape. The sphere also encloses the water in the globe; the water serves as the medium through which the "snow" falls. To activate the snow, the globe is...
against a vending machineVending machineA vending machine is a machine which dispenses items such as snacks, beverages, alcohol, cigarettes, lottery tickets, consumer products and even gold and gems to customers automatically, after the customer inserts currency or credit into the machine....
glass and breaking it (which was done in one take), and another worker using the same snow globe to hit his boss in the "family jewels". The ad earned a US $1 million payday as the number one ranked ad in the annual USA Today Super Bowl Ad MeterUSA Today Super Bowl Ad MeterThe USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter is an annual survey taken of television commercials by the USA Today newspaper in a live poll during the telecast in the United States of the annual professional American football championship game of the National Football League...
survey from Doritos' owners, Frito-LayFrito-LayFrito-Lay North America is the division of PepsiCo that manufactures, markets and sells corn chips, potato chips and other snack foods. The primary snack food brands produced under the Frito-Lay name include Fritos corn chips, Cheetos cheese-flavored snacks, Doritos and Tostitos tortilla chips,...
as part of their annual "Crash The Super Bowl" contest. - 2009 – Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy PolamaluTroy PolamaluTroy Aumua Polamalu is an American football strong safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was drafted in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft by the Steelers. He played college football at the University of Southern California.-High school:Troy Polamalu graduated...
is involved in a spoof of the 1980 Coca-Cola ad where a kid tries to give him his Coke ZeroCoca-Cola ZeroCoca-Cola Zero or Coke Zero is a product of the Coca-Cola Company. It is a low-calorie variation of Coca-Cola specifically marketed to males, who were shown to associate 'diet' drinks with women....
, but the two Coke brand executives which usually appear in Coke Zero ads and overzealously defend their brand suddenly appear and take the bottle. Polamalu tackles one of them, drinks the Coke Zero, then rips their shirt off and tosses it to the kid. - 2010 – In an ad for SnickersSnickersSnickers is a brand name chocolate bar made by Mars, Incorporated. It consists of peanut nougat topped with roasted peanuts and caramel, enrobed in milk chocolate. Snickers has annual global sales of $2 billion....
candy bars, Abe VigodaAbe VigodaAbe Vigoda is an American movie and television actor. Vigoda is well known for his portrayal of Sal Tessio in The Godfather, and for his portrayal of Detective Sgt. Phil Fish on the sitcom television series Barney Miller from 1975–1977 and on its spinoff show Fish that aired from February 1977 to...
playing an old man with little energy is said to be "playing football like Betty WhiteBetty WhiteBetty White Ludden , better known as Betty White, is an American actress, comedienne, singer, author, and former game show personality. With a career spanning seven decades since 1939, she is best known to modern audiences for her television roles as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and...
," with the 88-year-old actress subsequently tackled for comedic effect. - 2010 - A nationwide controversy surrounded Tim TebowTim TebowTimothy Richard "Tim" Tebow is an American football player who is currently the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Broncos as the 25th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft...
's decision to appear in an ad funded by the socially conservativeSocial conservatismSocial Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
organization Focus on the FamilyFocus on the FamilyFocus on the Family is an American evangelical Christian tax-exempt non-profit organization founded in 1977 by psychologist James Dobson, and is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Focus on the Family is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organizations that rose to prominence in the 1980s...
that was broadcast during Super Bowl XLIVSuper Bowl XLIVSuper Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion New Orleans Saints to decide the National Football League champion for the 2009 season. The Saints defeated the Colts by a score of...
on CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. There were two 30-second commercials, which included Tebow's personal story as part of an overall pro-lifePro-lifeOpposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
stance. The abortionAbortionAbortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
issue was not specifically mentioned in the ad. Pro-choicePro-choiceSupport for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....
groups condemned the ad, while pro-lifePro-lifeOpposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
groups rallied around Tebow. - One of the most famous Super Bowl ad campaigns has been the "I'm Going to Disney World!I'm Going to Disney World!"I'm going to Disney World!" and "I'm going to Disneyland!" are advertising slogans used in a series of television commercials by The Walt Disney Company that began airing in 1987...
" ads for the past 20 years. - Bud BowlBud BowlThe Bud Bowl was a stop motion animated Super Bowl advertising campaign first aired in 1989, and sporadically during the 1990s. It served as an advertisement for Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser family of beers. It featured Budweiser bottles playing a football game against Bud Light bottles.-History:Bud...
- "You keep your hands off my momma, and you keep your hands off my Doritos!"
- 2011 - ChryslerChryslerChrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
created an ad featuring shots of the once great industrial city of Detroit, cutting to the visuals of rapper EminemEminemMarshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
driving the Chrysler 200 about the city while his song "Lose YourselfLose Yourself"Lose Yourself" is an Academy Award winning song by American hip-hop artist Eminem, released as the first single from the original soundtrack to the movie 8 Mile on October 22, 2002. It was written and produced by Eminem himself, along with longtime collaborator Jeff Bass, one half of the...
" plays in the background. The commercial pauses just enough for the MC to enter downtown Detroit’s famous Fox Theater and face the camera to utter the line "this is the Motor City and this is what we do." At 2 minutes, this is the longest advertisement in Super Bowl history.
See also
- USA Today Super Bowl Ad MeterUSA Today Super Bowl Ad MeterThe USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter is an annual survey taken of television commercials by the USA Today newspaper in a live poll during the telecast in the United States of the annual professional American football championship game of the National Football League...
, an annual survey of Super Bowl commercials taken by USA TodayUSA TodayUSA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
since 1989. - ADBOWLADBOWLADBOWL is an online, real-time website that tracks what consumers think of the commercials that air during major television events such as the Super Bowl and the Academy Awards...
is an annual online, real-time website that tracks consumer opinion of Super Bowl advertisements.