Super Bowl Ads
...ch has proven that the commercials during the game are just as big of a reason people watch as the football. Actually it has been studied that up to 7% of the viewers during the game are only watching for the commercials. Research has also shown that viewers watch Super Bowl ads in much more depth than an everyday television commercial. These are reasons why the game can be claimed as the single most important event for advertising of the year. The network that holds the rights to the game have been hyping the event up huge in the past years so the interest in the ads will be great. Current Situation: Why the Game is a Scramble for Advertising Slots First of all and foremost the 134 million people watching is the main reason why advertisers flock to buy up airtime during the game. There is no other event on the planet that can generate that many viewers who can be advertised all at the same time. This is why companies spend millions on designing ad campaigns for 30 second slots. Unbelievably the slots are filled with no problem. With Super Bowl XXXIV, the slots were sold out five months in advance. They were sold out before the season had even begun. In Tomkovick, Yelkur and Christian’s paper they show numbers of the costs per person that a 2.2 million dollar ad can get a company. In 2000 with commercials averaging at 2.2 million, the cost per person is averaged less than $0.01 per person. With these numbers it is kind of hard to not advertise during the Super Bowl if you have the money. Targeting the male viewer during prime time has been extremely difficult for companies, so with the Super Bowl providing such a large male fan base watching, it gives them just another reason to advertise. Research has shown viewers pay special attention during Super Bowl ads. They claim 68% of people paid attention to the ads and 52% talked about them the next day (Tomkovick, Yelkur and Christians 2001, p. 92). This is far superior to any other advertising on television. This is greatly looked at by companies as to why they advertise. Benefits Gained by Advertising during the Game The Super Bowl is grounds for a company to move forward. With an affective strategy, a company can increase its market share and provide product awareness to the viewers and in essence to who ever they talk to (word of mouth). Tomkovick, Yelkur and Christian’s paper give some examples of the benefits sought out by companies. Companies like McDonalds, Taco Bell, Ford, Visa, Toyota and Pizza Hut all reported they gained market share following ads placed during the game. Frito-Lay claims a double digit gain in their market share after their 1992 ad. Even Hollywood, who had been getting involved, benefits at the box office. A remarkable 80% of films advertised during the game have become box office hits. Watching the game you can expect to see a fair share of new products as well as existing ones being advertised. The Super Bowl is a great time to launch new products exposing them to the public eye. “The most renowned Super Bowl product launch in history was the Apple Computers’ dramatic introduction of its Macintosh computer in 1984. Apple Computers reported that this advertisement, which is referred to as ‘1984’, resulted in sales of 72,000 Macintosh computers during their first 100 days of availability following the Super Bowl telecast” (p. 92). Why Commercial Slots are Hard to Come By For a smaller/unknown company, getting a slot during the Super Bowl is very hard. Brand recognition is very powerful in the market, as it should be, but not over controlling. Companies such as Pepsi, Anheuser-Busch, Coors Light, Michelob, Cadillac, Chrysler, Disney, and Yahoo are just some that control numerous slots. I believe that every company has its right in a capitalistic society to advertise their products or services, but not control the airwaves because of muscle in their name. Companies such as these are the first in line to purchase commercials and if any smaller/new companies are lucky, they get the scraps left over of the forth quarter slots where most shy away from due to less viewer involvement and attention. It is not the money that buys a slot because there are thousands of companies that make millions and could make the purchase. It is the brand names that power their way to the advantages. That is why you can see basically the same big names controlling numerous slots year after year. The question is why a smaller unknown company isn’t allowed that precious time during this spectacle that they are able to pay for. Sure you see the occasional new company squeeze in a commercial, only to get bombarded by 11 slots of Anheuser-Busch. In my eyes this is not fair but with the right regulations set, all parties can have the same equal chance to advertise and benefit without complaining. Recommendations: Where Regulations Should Be Placed and Why The Super Bowl is chance for a company to shine. Huge, well-know brand names that have deep pockets are the companies that buy up the slots which sell in no time. The demand for slots during the game is great, and many companies miss or better termed, “are bought out” from their opportunity to expose themselves during the game. A chance to advertise during the Super Bowl is the chance of a lifetime for smaller but capable companies. These companies do not have the pockets or power that a Pepsi Co. or Anheuser-Busch has, but they could purchase a slot if they weren’t already taken by all of the huge corporations. Obviously I am not proposing that Pepsi Co. and Anheuser-Busch be banned from marketing during the game, but I am proposing that the network holding the game should regulate how many commercials each company is aloud to control. I propose a two commerci...