Just Weeks Away From All Those Super Bowl Ads

Is your anticipation up? Yes, it’s coming upon us, that special day in both sports and advertising. The biggest day of the year for so many fans. I have been neglecting the topic as of late with the economy impacting us all in different ways, but a good friend of mine recently reminded me that even in difficult times we should remember to stop when we can and just enjoy. In my mind, there is no better day than the Super Bowl to do just that.

The Super Bowl is right up there in my household with any major holiday. We make junk food that would normally not be served on a daily basis, perhaps partake in a little too much wine, soda, or your favorite beer and most of all enjoy the show. I happen to love football so that part is easy enough to endure, but I also love the ads. It’s a moment you anticipate all year long. There have been companies made on one ad alone and of course, some of those that did not last until the following year.

The tone of ads this year may be much different from years past. Companies I suspect may be rather cautious about the potential to offend anyone in such economic times. Spending $3 million on a 30-second ad in a time where layoffs are happening left and right may be considered offensive enough, we’ll have to wait and see. The most successful ads of recent years have been all about humor. The past 2 years there has been a great deal of focus on contests, this year it will be the Doritos Super Bowl Ad Contest to watch. Both NFL and GoDaddy opted to have the fans pick their ad for them. Denny’s will be a new participant. E*Trade will be returning, if you remember the talking baby was quite a hit last year. I can’t wait for game time to see the final line up.

There have also been some memorable moments outside the game that have changed the world such as the Janet Jackson “wardrobe malfunction” many years ago, which still holds records for the most replayed TiVo event. For those of you that have read my book you know that I love the TiVo statistics and I’ll give them a little shout out since they were so great to work with on the project. Now this is just one measurement, there are plenty of others but they represent a good audience share. A lot has changed since then, this year it may just be the Twitter activity that is most revealing.

Let us hope for an entertaining, possibly underexposed, game day this Feb 1!