Local Businesses Eye Value In Super Bowl Ads

Rare is the televised sporting event where you’ll find dialogue that sounds like this – “Hurry up! The Patriots just scored, they’re about to kick the extra point and go to commercial. You can finish those dishes when the game comes back on!” – but for Super Bowl Sunday it is. Talk of the ads dominate conversations, with emphasis on what companies will come up with next and who’ll pony up the $3.5 million—or in one late entry’s case, as much as $4 million—to guarantee a seat at the party.
“The Super Bowl is the highest watched program in the country,” said local sales manager for NBC 26, Pete Michenfelder, whose station will air Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday, Feb. 5. “What’s neat about it is that people don’t take bathroom breaks during the commercials, they take them during the game.”

And for all the talk surrounding the national ads, it seems we forget that there are local businesses wrestling for those same eager eyeballs in order to have their product or service viewed by the largest collective audience of the year.

“There’s so much interest over the years for watching the commercials,” said Michenfelder. “What we’ve suggested locally is that they take a similar approach (like national advertisers) and put their best foot forward that evening.”

The same intoxicating question asked nationally even arises at the local level: how much does a 30 second spot cost to air?

“We are not going to share any of that information,” said Michenfelder. “That’s just some information that’s proprietary from our regard.”

While the different pricing structures of the sales packages affect how much an individual 30 second spot would run, on average, the in-game spots are rumored to be in the neighborhood of $5,000 a pop.

“Spots are certainly at a premium, but if you look at the cost-per-thousand and cost-per-rating points (measurement metric), it’s a tremendous value,” said Michenfelder.

The majority of the Super Bowl units sold were packaged with other programming, such as the Super Bowl pre-game broadcast, the premiere of Season 2 of “The Voice”—which follows the Super Bowl – and the 17-day 2012 Summer Olympics.

Driving the demand for much of the coveted national space again this year will be automotive ads, and that trend extends here to the local level as well. Car dealerships, lumber companies and fast food are the primary clients committed to the Super Bowl, Michenfelder said.

Last year’s Super Bowl between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers was not only the most watched Super Bowl, but also the most watched single program of any kind in US TV history. The 162.9 million estimated viewer total outdrew the previous leader, Super Bowl XLIV (Colts-Saints) by over 9 million viewers. The TV rating for last year’s game was 54.0—that means 54% of all TV’s, including those not even turned on, were tuned to the Super Bowl. The telecast also garnered an astronomical 73 share, which means that 73% of people that were watching TV while the game was on were locked on FOX.

Mammoth ratings for sports are nothing new for viewers familiar with NBC’s programming. Their Sunday Night Football program consistently dominates ratings in the regular season, so sales staffs across the country have a leg up when retreading their pitches for the Olympic Games. Also, since both boast similar buying practices, and many Olympians have become as recognizable as some of the NFL’s brightest stars, some things are an easier sell than others.

I'm Thankful For....

Instead of me going on and on about what I’m thankful for this year, I decided to devote my space this week for others to vent before the holiday. Thank you. I agree, that’s quite a gesture on my part. But there’s always what was really said, and what we know they wanted to say. So to celebrate the Thanksgiving season, I’ve compiled the Thanksgiving edition of “What We Wish They Said”.

“And y’all gave me hell about some tattoos. Told ya it could’ve been worse!”- Jim Tressel, currently consulting for the 0-10 Indianapolis Colts, former Ohio State head coach, ’02 BCS National Champion, 12x Coach of the Year


“They just boys bein’ boys, man. We over here poppin’ bottles, puffin’ Bubble Kush and paying dimes for a good time, then you got Sandusky towel fightin’ and showering with little leaguers? What the hell that white dude thinkin’? Now dat is a lack of institutional control!” –Nevin Shapiro, Ponzi schemer, convicted felon and Miami booster who allegedly gave $2 million in illegal benefits to athletes at the University of Miami. Side note: Miami this past weekend removed themselves from bowl eligibility because of the violations; their game on Saturday versus Boston College will be their season finale.


“Honey, I’m gonna be gone for a few days. With the economy like this I can’t currently afford Christmas presents just yet, so I’ll be in Atlanta for a bit. If there’s any game a gullible Georgia fan will pay 4x the ticket price to see live it’ll be this one.” --Every third-party ticket seller for the SEC Championship game as the Georgia Bulldogs--and their fans--head to the Georgia Dome playing the “nobody believes in us!” card.


“Really guys, NC State?!?!?! Are you trying to get me killed?!?! You know it’s a contract year for me!! If you don’t get your act together and make everybody think I’m a good coach again I’m going to throw a fit every day during bowl week. That’s right, a first rate hissy fit. You got that?!?!” –Dabo Swinney, Head coach of the Clemson Tigers, who somehow fumbled their way out of national title contention. Programming alert: If you are from the Southeast you already know to replace ‘somehow’ with ‘predictably’.


“Jay Cutler broke his thumb!!! Jay Cutler broke his thumb!!! Our season might be saved after all!” – Any member of the Atlanta Falcons organization or fan base


“God bless you.”–Tim Tebow, Denver Broncos quarterback, former Florida Gator, and all-around great guy who stands for more than the average guy can understand, so he catches grief for it. As far as I can tell this is really what he’s thinking.


Games of the Week


Green Bay @ Detroit-Thursday-12:30p-FOX

There is much anticipation for this one. Haven’t said that for quite some time.


No. 3 Arkansas @ No. 1 LSU-Friday-2:30p-CBS

Isn’t having the Top 3 teams in the nation from not only the same conference, but from the same division ridiculous? SEC WEST! SEC WEST! SEC WEST!


Aquinas vs. Landmark Christian-Friday-7:30p

The Irish are continuing to leave their imprint on the school record books. Keep up the good work, boys.


No.13 Georgia @ No.23 Georgia Tech-Saturday-High Noon-ESPN

“I know I’m asking a lot you guys, but hunker it down one more time!”


No.17 Clemson @ No.12 South Carolina-Saturday-7:45p-ESPN

Tommy Bowden made a living underachieving with Clemson, but at least he knew how to beat Carolina. Dabo is in a contract year, you best believe a loss here will rearrange some of the digits around on that paper.

Weekend Roundup

Favre wondering how many times you'll fall for the ol' retirement trick.

I wanna start with a special thanks going Patrick Willis’ way.

The punishing sack from Willis was all that Brad Childress needed to see to determine that Brett Favre’s day was done. Finished. If you are wondering how many snaps Favre took part in against the San Francisco 49’s, the number on his jersey tells the story. Four plays. We knew coming in that he would only take part in one or two series at the most, but regardless of what plans anyone who has their checks signed by the Minnesota Vikings had for Favre in his first preseason game, they were jettisoned after the vicious sack by Willis. While others got in some quality work, Favre in fact did not. This brings me to the other thing that bugged me watching the game. For as many replays as you will see today about how the sack was the deciding factor is pulling Favre, attention will not be paid to the pathetic block attempt by Adrian Peterson. It is only preseason and the Vikings have a long daunting task in trying to get Favre to play near the same level as last year, but hop-stepping into a block, and keeping your weight on your heels with a middle linebacker coming free has never been the answer. Not on any level of play. In fact, it could have been potentially season ending if struck the wrong way. Just ask my former teammate at Valdosta State, Maurice Leggett, now a member of the Kansas City Chiefs, who was taken off the field on a golf cart during their preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this weekend. Just because on one play the stars did not align and one play was all it took to deliver a serious injury to a guy going into his third season, much less his 20th as Favre is. Adrian Peterson is paid to run the football without abandon not block that way. I get it. But for a player that supposedly likes physical play and needs to have a standout year to get back on track, that kind of play makes my mind wonder towards betting the under on total wins for the Vikings this year.

Other Thoughts…

- Love the backup QB play from both teams. Joe Webb of the Vikings is physically gifted and very raw for the NFL now, but if the 49’s didn’t get stellar play from their soon-to-be clipboard holder, Nate Davis, we could just as easily be talking about the prospects for the Vikings, who could end up dropping Sage Rosenfels and sticking with Webb-excuse the pun- and Tarvaris Jackson. That move would give them two dual threat QB’s to one pro style-Brett Favre. Very interesting to look forward to in watching these last few preseason games.


- Former Stanford Cardinal Toby Gerhart could make a comfortable place for himself on this Viking squad if they can keep getting that kind of production out of him on screen passes and inside runs. He is heavier so his running style will feature even less lateral movement-not a negative-than we’ve seen from him in the pass, and with continued development blocking out of the shotgun formation could be called on early if Peterson is not overly effective running the ball and continues to show his major deficiencies involving fumbles and picking up blitzes with success.

- The entire game was bloated with Favre talk to the point of the entire first half previewing and teasing the Al Michaels halftime interview, at halftime the interview was finally played-BOOOOO!!!!- and finishing up by breaking down Favre’s answers for the entire second half. That’s just the way the broadcasts work these days, I guess I’m going to have to shut up and keep watching.

- During the interview with Favre that took place late in the game, you could tell Favre was annoyed at being pulled so early. Not a good day of work for Favre and you could tell that he understands how limited and valuable this time is before these games start counting for real. They can say that he and Childress have worked out their differences, but I’d bet you could cut the tension between the two all season long with a knife.

- Prep Thoughts: Hopefully Williston-Elko has replaced the Kool-Aid with Gatorade in their coolers or what a shame this season would be with all that firepower and talent. If I were a betting man I’d say head coach Dwayne Garrick has handled this with his team already.

- With the first full slate of high school games starting this Friday, we’ve already had two attention-grabbing games to kick off the year, I’d say expect some great things from this area in high school football this year.

While NFL preseason games lack the heightened meaning of regular season outcomes, I unlike many others, find it easy to sit down and enjoy a game that has as much meaning as me introducing a new idea at the weekly promotions meeting. No, it’s not as enjoyable as plopping down on the sofa during championship Sunday and a day full of E True Hollywood stories, but it’s entertaining on a different level altogether. This is the only time of year when you get to watch the former college superstars, the newest crop of unknown rookies, and struggling veterans trying to find their niche with a team in the same broadcast. Yes, the rookies are mainly going against other rookies and it dilutes the true results of the game, but sometimes it also gives you a realistic projection of what to expect from your new acquisitions, and how they will affect the coming season. This is where a show like Hard Knocks on HBO comes into play. HBO’s vast portfolio of successful television series has added another feather to their cap with Hard Knocks. HBO has done a good job in choosing a team with must-have qualities worthy of a behind-the-scenes series: An all-encompassing organization/team problem- Wins (The Bengals who were 4-11-1 last year and have not had a winning season since 2005), Displaced Veterans (Tank Johnson, Roy Williams, Laveranues Coles- All in current standing to start at respected positions.), Rookie holdout (Who coincidently also happens to own a pair of man boobs that would make Phil Mickelson blush), Memorable superstar (Chad Ochocinco, who is easily the most athletic guy who eats McDonalds on a regular basis, and also one of the more outspoken/curious players in the league at his position. He tweets. He kicks. Child Please!), a star QB (Who’s coming off an injury-plagued year and looks to return to pro bowl form), and speaking of those looking to return to form….

It’s safe to say that Mike Vick will take anything close to the form that he displayed before going to the slammer for bankrolling a dog fighting ring. Vick being the natural athlete that he is has looked good in practice, and he’s also the owner of the prettiest thrown deep ball in all of camp for the Eagles. This comes to no surprise from Atlanta fans who were accustomed to hearing about how delightfully spectacular Vick’s spirals looked in practice- and even were on public display when overthrowing any receiver on the roster during the games. It almost feels like karma has come through somewhat for Vick. He has been picked up by the Eagles, who have a solid front office, head coach and quarterback- who by the way is anxious to help the troubled quarterback get his career back on track. Vick still has to deal with the shoddy playing restrictions that the Commish has imposed on him, but with his overall situation, Vick should be pleased to still have a puncher’s chance of making something of his remaining career. In terms of the protesting that was thought to happen throughout the entire season, its looking like the increased media attention is on Plaxico and everything Obama. It will be exciting nonetheless to watch how the Eagles deal with the crowd of players under center. Let’s not forget that the Eagles have already drafted who they thought would eventually replace Mcnabb in Kevin Kolb, and with A.J. Feely playing well in the preseason, all we can do is wait and see what Vick does in his coming preseason action on Thursday.