By the time you read this, the most exciting advertising day of the year will be over. Along with the leftover guacamole, we marketing obsessed folks will rehash every ad that aired on Super Bowl Sunday, including who made the biggest faux pas (“What were they thinking??!”), the newcomers, and the trend-setters.
For those of us in marketing, Super Bowl day is better than the Oscars. We get to watch everyone put on their finest (or at least what seemed like their finest at the time …) and strut their marketing finery down the red carpet of the biggest TV day of the year.
The average Super Bowl ad runs well over $2.5M (plus approximately $1M in production costs, according to Wikipedia). It’s hard to imagine why companies spend so much to run a single spot. You would think that in the world of Google ads and craigslist postings, those hugely expensive ad spots would go the way of the dinosaur.
But in the days of audience fragmentation, the Super Bowl is increasingly relevant because it’s one of those rare TV times when most of America (and the rest of the world) is watching (aside from American Idol nights …). It’s increasingly difficult for mass market brands to find a mass market anymore. Super Bowl Sunday has become one of those rare and therefore, increasingly valuable, spots.
Let’s hope this year is as much fun as it has been every other year. Pass the guac and bring on the ads!
Jenn