It's not even Thanksgiving, yet Fox has just announced that 90% of their advertising Real Estate for the next Super Bowl is already sold out. The game doesn't even start for three months but less than ten, 30-second spots are left...Yours for a mere $2.7m a piece.
The Super Bowl attracts what is arguably the largest collection of attentive eyeballs on the planet, a vast swathe of which are owned by people 18-49 - The advertisers gold-mine! So the size of the demand is barely a surprise. The staggering scale of this audience also makes such an ad the focus of some of Madison Avenue's most intense and artistic efforts. For some people, the results are a major [if not the only] reason to even watch the game! I know, I'm one of them -- if I lived to be 200 I'd never understand American Football.
Most of the commercials seem destined to be for cars, movies and fast food; Which is a shame as the smaller advertisers usually bring the most memorable ads. And with so much demand so unfeasibly early, Fox could now demand almost usury rates for the few vacant spots - which shortens the smaller guy's chances even further...which is really depressing.
"Faux News" have also been offering their buyers the option to run ads on their social hub, 'MySpace.' The Network will then run promotions during the game, telling the viewers [who, as if anyone cared, are trying to watch the sport!] to visit the site, where they can snag extra goodies like coupons, links and the chance to watch exclusive trailers.
It may be that my view is outdated, but commercials were invented as a way to bring the shows to the viewer without cost. Today, as this 'Bowl-buying' frenzy further proves, the mind-set seems to be that the shows are used to bring viewers to the ads. If you give your audience mediocre programs infested with endless [vastly profitable] commercials, you can't be surprised if your ratings collapse. And as a glance at the Nielsen's will tell you, that's exactly what's happened.
One day...maybe...they'll catch on.
The ads are sold. Now comes the hype. Kick-off is February 3rd. Start warming up!...
The Super Bowl attracts what is arguably the largest collection of attentive eyeballs on the planet, a vast swathe of which are owned by people 18-49 - The advertisers gold-mine! So the size of the demand is barely a surprise. The staggering scale of this audience also makes such an ad the focus of some of Madison Avenue's most intense and artistic efforts. For some people, the results are a major [if not the only] reason to even watch the game! I know, I'm one of them -- if I lived to be 200 I'd never understand American Football.
Most of the commercials seem destined to be for cars, movies and fast food; Which is a shame as the smaller advertisers usually bring the most memorable ads. And with so much demand so unfeasibly early, Fox could now demand almost usury rates for the few vacant spots - which shortens the smaller guy's chances even further...which is really depressing.
"Faux News" have also been offering their buyers the option to run ads on their social hub, 'MySpace.' The Network will then run promotions during the game, telling the viewers [who, as if anyone cared, are trying to watch the sport!] to visit the site, where they can snag extra goodies like coupons, links and the chance to watch exclusive trailers.
It may be that my view is outdated, but commercials were invented as a way to bring the shows to the viewer without cost. Today, as this 'Bowl-buying' frenzy further proves, the mind-set seems to be that the shows are used to bring viewers to the ads. If you give your audience mediocre programs infested with endless [vastly profitable] commercials, you can't be surprised if your ratings collapse. And as a glance at the Nielsen's will tell you, that's exactly what's happened.
One day...maybe...they'll catch on.
The ads are sold. Now comes the hype. Kick-off is February 3rd. Start warming up!...
