When Super Bowl XLII kicks off in Arizona on Sunday, the New England Patriots will attempt to accomplish a feat never before realized in the history of the National Football League: a 19-0 season. And, while the New York Giants will be pulling out their most inventive plays in the hopes of nabbing an upset victory, advertisers will be bringing out their most innovative commercials in the hopes of grabbing a half-a-minute of consumer attention.
Just as it has been in years past, the Super Bowl remains the hottest spot for advertising on television. With cable luring viewers away from the major networks, the Super Bowl is one of the few television events that still garner a large chunk of viewers. According to Nielsen ratings, the average ad during last year’s Super Bowl had nearly 93 million viewers (in contrast, last week’s highest rated TV show, American Idol, had a little over 33 million viewers). And many believe this year’s game, with the Patriots’ record-setting season on the line, will become the most-watched Super Bowl ever (a title that currently belongs to the 1996 Super Bowl, which featured two of the NFL’s most storied franchises: the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers).
While the companies who advertise during the Super Bowl certainly get their products in front of a lot of consumers, it also comes with a hefty price tag. The cost of a 30-second commercial during this year’s game on Fox set a new record, with prices hitting the $2.7 million mark (CBS charged $2.6 million last year). With such a big investment on the line, companies and ad agencies devote a lot of time and effort to creating their most inventive commercials of the year — commercials they hope will leave viewers with a lasting impression.
And, this year is certainly no different. With many of the usual suspects on board (Anheuser-Busch, Pepsi, Doritos), a few newcomers are also dipping their toes into the highly competitive Super Bowl waters. Planters, perhaps most famous for its cane-toting peanut mascot, is one of the companies making its Super Bowl debut during this year’s game. The company’s first-half ad, featuring a uni-browed woman who draws the adoring gaze of every man she encounters, employs the familiar tactic of using humor to reach the Super Bowl audience. Another advertiser new to the big game, Bridgestone Firestone North America, is also going the comedic route with a series of commercials where Richard Simmons, Alice Cooper and other obstacles get in the way of unsuspecting drivers.
Still, until a new champion is crowned, the undisputed master of the Super Bowl commercial remains Anheuser-Busch – who will air seven new ads during this year’s game. The commercials will feature more of the same from the beer-producing giant. One series of ads shows Bud Light drinkers attaining superpowers, with a man getting the ability to breathe fire and a woman finding out the downside of X-ray vision, while another ad reveals that mankind’s greatest invention – the wheel – was actually conceived by a caveman hauling a stone cooler full of beer. Though always good for a chuckle, Anheuser-Busch faces the unique problem of trying to live up to the success of its own past Super Bowl commercials. But, whether people love them or hate them, office workers will still be standing around the water cooler on Monday debating the merits of the new Bud Light ad. And that certainly can’t be bad for brand recognition.
