Sure, the game’s big. Who doesn’t love the final word in a season fraught with partisan fan-fever? But let’s face it – the most watched televised event in the country brings the lure of shiny advertising with it. And that’s what makes people linger during commercial breaks. With 111 million viewers who tuned in for 2011, and a hefty $3.5 million dollar price tag for a 30 second spot, Superbowl advertising is officially at its priciest high.
But how does it all come together? The price tag barely scratches the surface of all the work that gets poured into developing an ad scheduled to run during the Superbowl. For starters, the price is determined by where the ad runs during the game (halftime or not) or whether the marketers have bought a single media spot or purchased a package deal, to name a few.
Ad Creation
The process of creating a Superbowl ad begins, in some cases, right after the game ends. Once a spot for airing has been bought, the process of conceptualization to story writing to shooting and edits is put immediately into place. The word on the street is that Superbowl ads need to be culled together for a final drafting by early to mid Fall.
Some advertisers tend to fall back on the success of their last venture. Volkswagen, for instance, seems to be the favorite of the masses this year because they’ve brought back The Force for 2012. The video has garnered over 10 million views (+2 from this writer!) so far and the game is still 5 days away.
The next step in the process is trying to woo the network slated to host the game. Too strong? We’ll call it “approaching” instead. Honestly though, because of all the hoops and jumps in place leading up to network acceptance (script approval, credit checks and Standards & Practices clearance), “wooing” does seem to be more apropos.
Justifying the Expense
Why do it? Because the Superbowl is still the only televised event that attracts and holds the attention of nearly the entire nation. It’s a great time for marketers to launch a new product with almost guaranteed exposure and viewership. Obviously, the wittier the ad, the more it speaks for the company. It’s difficult to fight with nearly 50 million views of a single ad after almost 111 million people watched it on air.
We think it’s a great investment. What has been your favorite Superbowl ad? Let us know in the comments!
