super bowl ads - how and why doing the best needs to be at the super bowl

 this is a great article to read for any marketer who is looking into advertising at this time of economic downturn. this will tell you why advertising at this time is needed and how to do it.

the cost of a super bowl ad, reportedly at US$3 Million per 30 second commercial and set within the context of uncertain business gains has made getting it right on the kind of ad to air at the super bowl as a most important goal.

Marketers face pressure to deliver with Super Bowl ads
By Bruce Horovitz, USA TODAY

For most Super Bowl advertisers, there's one sure thing about being in the game: the pressure.


And thanks to the imploded economy, this one on Sunday may be the all-time pressure cooker. The decision to spend $3 million — $100,000 a second — to air a 30-second Super Bowl ad seems almost indefensible.

It is a particularly sticky wicket after a week in which 70,000 layoffs were announced and labor statistics set a couple of firsts: Unemployment was up in every state in December, and people getting unemployment benefits has hit a record. The quiet question: How many jobs could be saved by not running a Super Bowl spot?

"This is the first Super Bowl of the Great Depression 2.0," says Steve Hayden, vice chairman at Ogilvy Worldwide perhaps best known as the co-writer of the "1984" Apple ad that set off the Super Bowl ad frenzy 25 years ago. "Being on the Super Bowl this year is like driving around in a Duesenberg in 1929."

Don't tell that to 30-some brands that bought the 33.5 minutes of ad time in the NBC game broadcast, including veterans such as Budweiser, Pepsi and Coke and first-timers such as Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, Pedigree pet food and Denny's.

The common goal: $100,000-a-second worth of ad buzz. Buzz means Web hits after the game and, in good times anyway, that translates into sales.

There's no telling what it means in the worst of times, which is why NBC had two ad slots left Thursday. "I'm not going to tell you it hasn't been a tough slog," Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Sports, said early this week. "But we have not crashed price in any way, shape or form."

Advertisers who bought in are rethinking what to air. They're doing more research. They're focusing on hallmarks such as heritage. They are even alluding to the economy — some seriously, some with a chuckle.

"The biggest danger every Super Bowl advertiser faces is being ignored," says advertising research guru Don Bruzzone.

That's a real danger this year, says data from researcher Gallup & Robinson. Record low consumer confidence is likely to result in record-low consumer recall of Super Bowl ads, says Scott Purvis, president.

For 12 years, he says, there's been a direct relationship between people's confidence in the economy and the attention they pay to Super Bowl ads, so advertisers face "an additional headwind."

"More than ever, it's a desperate move to buy time on the Super Bowl," says ad guru Carol Moog. "Some are going to feel stupid. Some are going to feel guilty. Some are going to feel they've done what they have to do, since being on the Super Bowl presents an image of health."

In fact, some Super Bowl advertisers bought in this year not to sell products but to prove to consumers that "we're still around and always will be," says Martin Lindstrom, author of Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy.

For others, the cost of the image boost is too high. General Motors and FedEx, two Super Bowl ad regulars, passed this year.

"As a country, we are in unprecedented economic waters," explains Steve Pacheco, FedEx ad chief. "Being in the game simply sends the wrong message to employees and FedEx constituents."

GM has no major vehicle to launch and has been slashing ad spending. "It made more sense to pass," says GM spokeswoman Kelly Cusinato.

Those who didn't pass have been scrambling to justify their supersize marketing investment.

"Advertisers will wake up the day after the Super Bowl and say, 'That was a big red herring,' " says Robbie Blinkoff, a cultural anthropologist. "They need to focus on the next 10 years, not the next 10 minutes."

Pessimism angers some

Such pessimism infuriates NBC executives and Super Bowl advertisers — particularly those who have been at it longest and invested many millions of dollars to methodically build brand images around the Super Bowl.

Anheuser-Busch has been at it since 1989. "We're long-term committed (to the game), through recession, boom or bust," says Bob Lachky, chief creative officer of the beermaker, which will air 4.5 minutes of ads. "It's the best way for us to reach the largest number of adult beer drinkers. There's not one meeting have I sat in where anyone questioned it."


Massimo d'Amore, CEO of PepsiCo Americas Beverages, says an imploding economy won't dampen Pepsi's Super Bowl ad plans. "It's an historical opportunity to bring a moment of joy to consumers who have been squeezed."

Then there are first-timers who insist the opportunity was too enormous to pass up.

"We have to be really smart about the decisions we make in this downturn," says Nelson Marchioli, CEO of Denny's, which promises an ad with an "unprecedented deal" on its Grand Slam breakfast. The point, he says, is to get people to reconsider Denny's. "Not only do I want to survive this downturn, but I want to take back share."

As never before, Super Bowl advertisers are putting extra time and effort into preparing for this game within the game by:

• Upping research. Advertisers are testing and retesting ads "within an inch of their lives," says Hayden.

Even in the downturn, A-B is doing its usual intense "battery of testing," says Lachky. Ads have been prescreened by up to 600 consumers in three cities, and about a dozen possible ads have been whittled down to a handful.

• Eyeing return on investment (ROI). "In an environment like this, we are even more so looking for return on investment," says Richard Castellini, marketing chief at CareerBuilder.com, a job-hunting site jointly owned by Tribune, McClatchy, Microsoft and USA TODAY parent Gannett.

Advertisers are factoring in ROI because employees, shareholders and viewers will ask hard questions, says Linda Sawyer, CEO at ad agency Deutsch. "This year, consumers will not only weigh in on whether it's a great ad, but whether it's a good investment."

• Creating extra spots. Hyundai shot nine commercials, from which it selected two for the game, says Joel Ewanick, vice president of marketing. The carmaker also is the title sponsor of the pregame show.

CareerBuilder ordered four TV spots from which it will pick one or two. It's all about ads that get response, says Castellini.

• Scrutinizing agencies. "Our clients are being much more careful about overseeing us," says Jeff Goodby, co-founder of Goodby Silverstein & Partners. The agency has spots for Hyundai and Denny's and is overseeing Doritos' online Super Bowl ad competition for video by consumers.

• Being mindful of the times. Advertisers are thinking extra hard about what they're saying — and why — says Goodby.

Client Hyundai will air a spot promoting its recently created Hyundai Assurance program, which lets Hyundai buyers who lose their jobs return cars without damage to their credit. The Assurance ad replaced a spot for a new Hyundai Genesis coupe, explains Ewanick, because "there's no better place" to broadcast the message than on the Super Bowl.

A lighter A-B ad shows what happens to a corporate bean counter who suggests one cut too many: No more Bud Light at budget meetings.

• Exploiting rivals' absence. Audi knows most competing luxury car brands will not be in the Super Bowl. "If competitors are hitting the brakes, we think if we can accelerate now, we can post a lot more gains," says Scott Keogh, chief marketing officer. The Audi ad features a Hollywoodlike car chase with a twist.

In fact, brands that invest in marketing during a recession tend to gain market share when the recession ends, says author Lindstrom. "Even though it sounds absurd to see brands advertise at a $3 million price tag, it may pay off very well in the long run."

• Listening to retailers. Audi has had "exhaustive" conversations with dealer groups, says Keogh. "They said they want us to keep our foot on the gas in this market and return to the Super Bowl."

• Tweaking Web strategy. Last year, about 300,000 Super Bowl viewers who saw Hyundai's ads went online before the game was even over to leave their addresses to get more information, says Ewanick. This year, Hyundai expects an even larger online response during and after the game with its "Assurance" spot.

• Trying to make ads that get talked about. Two Super Bowl spots — for PepsiCo's SoBe Lifewater and DreamWorks movie Monsters vs. Aliens— will air in 3-D. This increases the cost of the spots and complicates viewership — Pepsi has given out about 125 million pairs of cardboard 3-D glasses needed to get the full effect.

"We are convinced our brand has to move at the speed of culture," says d'Amore.

•Avoiding negative imagery. Many Super Bowl viewers have been affected, directly or indirectly, by job cuts. That made online broker E-Trade more careful about poking fun at traditional big brokers, which have seen huge layoffs and even liquidation, says Nicholas Utton, chief marketing officer. E-Trade's ad again features the talking baby.

•Cutting back on ad time. E-Trade will air one ad instead of its usual two. "We've got shareholders and investors out there," explains Utton. "At the end of the day, one ad is just right."

•Focusing on brand values. A-B will be represented by its familiar Clydesdale horses in a record three of its ads, says Lachky. "Consumers are looking for a message that reinforces certain values, tradition and heritage."

http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/2009-01-29-super-bowl-ads-marketers_N.htm?csp=usat.me