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Is Advertising During “The Big Game” Worth It?

By: Hoffman York
January 2019
4 min

In 1967, the price tag on a TV spot during Pro Football’s grand finale event was a modest $40,000 (around $294,000 with today’s inflation). In 2018, a 30-second TV spot during The Big Game will run brands about $5.2 million, that’s $166,667 per second! Sure that’s a lot of money, but let’s consider what’s at stake.

In the time of cord-cutters and DVRs, it is one of a handful of events that is watched live with the inability to skip commercials. But honestly, who would want to skip the commercials? Research shows that 97% of viewers enjoy the ads. During typical television viewing, commercials are occasionally ignored by running to the bathroom, grabbing a beer, or preparing a snack. Not here. During this game we shush our friends as the ads roll, saving bathroom breaks for halftime. We have the viewers, we have their attention, but who has the checkbook? As the price continues to climb, we ask: Is advertising during The Big Game worth it? To answer that, the creative and media experts at Hoffman York weighed the pros, cons and potential ROI for brands willing to go big or go home. Here are 10 factors to consider before budgeting for next year’s Big Game.

The greatest takeaway of running an ad during The Big Game is brand awareness. For small or new brands the $5.2 million price tag can be a turn-off but the right ad lives past that 30-second spot. Anything “new” will get people buzzing, be that a new idea, a new flavor or a new design. Commercials have the ability to become viral videos on YouTube and social media based on the “you’ve-gotta-see-this-ad” factor.  Seriously, would anyone know what Go Daddy is without their TV spots during The Big Game?

February 4th will be the first day in 2018 when viewers want to watch commercials. Many brands gravitate to humor which, for some, works well. Some make us laugh while others like Budweiser’s Puppy Love ads make us cry. But bear in mind, the stakes are high for developing a spot that will move people—to laughter or tears. If you’re going to spend “Super” dollars, make them count. And by all means, don’t waste 30 seconds and $5.2 million to show viewers the same creative that’s been airing for the past six weeks.

There’s publicity, social buzz, not to mention more than 100 million viewers. No pressure. These viewers immediately turn to social media to share their thoughts on the ads they liked (and disliked), so you need to be ready to manage comments and questions—good and bad. A great TV spot can also lead a wave of traffic to your website all at once, so ensure it doesn’t crash. Lumber 84 created a controversial 90-second ad that aired during last year’s game. This spot cost the company 70% of its annual advertising budget alone. The massive response on its website had it crash in seconds. The issue was resolved in 10 minutes, but how many users were already onto the next ad? The Big Game is the biggest advertising day of the year, make sure your team and techs are ready.

TV ads are essentially little salespeople we pay to go to the homes of our prospective customers and make a pitch. If we just wanted to tell them a random funny story, we could mail them a book. Make sure your ads aren’t just telling a story, make sure they are telling your story.  Audi’s example on equal pay from last year’s reel shows a great story with a weak tie-in.

When it comes to The Big Game, half of all Americans plan to either host a party, attend one or watch the game at a local restaurant or bar. This according to Statista. That means 50 million people will be watching it in a noisy environment. Hearing the audio of the game itself isn’t entirely instrumental to knowing what is happening, and ads should follow this standard. If your story can’t be deciphered through visuals alone, the viewers in bars and restaurants may not receive the message.

A drop in the bucket for some brands, and entire budget for others. If a brand wants to advertise on Super Sunday, there are a few ways around that $5.2 million budget. A 15-second ad will cost a mere $2.6 million. In 2017, 15% of all TV spots were 15 seconds as compared to zero just 14 years prior. A good example is Wonderful Pistachio’s 15-second spot from last year. In addition to being less expensive, these shorter spots align with the shorter attention span of many of today’s viewers. In fact, the average attention span for millennials is 5 to 6 seconds when viewing an ad. If that’s still too costly, there’s the option to advertise through a local network affiliate during The Big Game. A handful of local spots will air before and after halftime and then between the third and fourth quarters. The cost of a local spot is dependent on the estimated amount of local viewers and the network.  Lastly, brands may consider advertising during other Super Sunday events like The Puppy Bowl or even buy space immediately after the game, a stunt that netted Esurance plenty of buzz and rave reviews four years ago.

Sure, when done right, brands can strengthen relationships with viewers by taking a stance on political issues. While you are strengthening relations with one side, the brand can often alienate the other. The Big Game is about fun, entertainment and having a good time. Try and keep partisan issues out in order to appeal to the greatest number of viewers. If an ad is too controversial, it can even be rejected by the network like this years’ AMVETS spot.

This is a time for fun, lightheartedness. Therefore, the brands that often see success advertising during The Big Game are those that appeal to this fun-loving crowd. Save darker, more complex products for a less entertainment-demanding (and less expensive) program slot.

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