Super Bowl 2012

Millions of viewers tuned in last night to watch “The Big Game”, this year’s competitors were the NY Giants and the NE Patriots.  Overall I think it was a good game, definitely some obvious mistakes made initially but the entertainment value was nothing to complain about…and this is coming from a novice sports enthusiast. But let’s get to the real grit and grime of last night’s events, the commercials!  According to an article on nbr.com, 25% of people tune in specifically to watch the commercials.  Yes, I know it’s hard to believe, not everyone in America loves football.

I personally do not think advertisers are taking the risks that they used to when approaching one of the most watched events all year.  Of course there were a few laugh out loud moments, I loved the Geico one with the man hiring the high school girls to torment him and Volkswagen one with the dog in fitness training. But all in all what are these companies paying for and how much are they paying?  It is a common known fact that ad spots during the Super Bowl are astronomical but also well worth the effort for the size of the audience you are capturing in such a brief event.  H&M, for example, paid $3.5 million so that we could all watch David Beckham in his undies, (thank you H&M by the way) which breaks down to $116,000 per second.  The highly coveted ad spots actually cost $3.5 million on average with some reaching as high as $4 million, depending on the length of the ad and the timing during the game.  This ad cost is actually the highest in Super Bowl history, up 84% from only ten years ago!

Only time will tell whether or not the money spent was well worth the effort, keeping in mind that these companies not only paid millions for the air time but some even invested millions in developing the ads.  So what is going to resonate in your mind?  Are you suddenly noticing a new craving for Doritos today?  Will you redirect your upcoming vehicle purchase to a Volkswagen or everlasting Chevy?  Or are you just going to look back with a fond memory of the annual event that draws over 100 million viewers in 232 countries and territories speaking 34-different languages? As for me I don’t think I’ve been influenced at all but if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to grab a bag of M&M’s and bottle of Pepsi and go watch Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.