Super Bowl Advertising

     

     Super Bowl XLVI is a match up between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots. The Super Bowl attracts a large audience every year. Last year there were a record 111 million people who tuned in to watch the game. Most tuned in to see the match up and then there are those that want to see the commercials. Every year advertisers spend a large amount of money to ensure they get a spot during the Super Bowl.

     So what do you need to get a commercial spot during the Super Bowl? Well you need 3.5 million dollars. That is the going price this year. This is a 59 percent increase from the 2.2 million dollars in 2001. Those advertisers willing to pay the 3.5 million dollars can expect for at least 111 million viewers to see their advertisements. This was the amount of viewers that tuned in last year and it is expected to increase this year. There are 96 commercials that will air during the Super Bowl. Every spot will be filled, as advertisers are willing to put up this money. 

     NBC is airing the Super Bowl this year. They were able to sell 70 spots by Thanksgiving. The reason that these spots sell so quickly is because this is actually a deal for advertisers. This is because of the cost per mille (CPM). This is a metric system that advertisers use to determine their spending for the amount of people that tune in. If 111 million people tune in and the advertising cost is 3.5 million this means the CPM is 31 dollars. A television show has a CPM of 35 dollars or higher. This means that Super Bowl advertising will continue to increase in price because they know advertisers already spend this money on other events. This years big advertisers are Anheuser-Busch, PepsiCo and General Motors. Anheuser-Busch is spending 239.1 million dollars on advertising. Pepsi is spending 174 million and General Motors is spending 82.8 million.

     Commercials during the Super Bowl are expensive, but they are valuable to advertisers because they know the large audience they are reaching. This years Super Bowl will be shown in 180 countries and territories and in 30 different languages. The Super Bowl will feature a good matchup between two teams that played not that long ago. I hope that advertisers see an increase in viewers and will continue to provide creative commercials that attract a larger audience to the game of football.