With nearly 95 million people set to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday, many major manufacturers are looking to capitalize by plunking down some $2.7 million for a 30-second TV spot. Will this expensive gamble pay dividends for businesses wanting to re-invent their brand or bump up supply?

Even if you aren’t a fan of the game itself, many folks will rally around the TV for the Super Bowl this Sunday for the wacky, irreverent advertising often associated with NFL’s biggest game. And therein lies one big consideration concerning the validity of Super Bowl advertising.

On one hand, a company’s message reaches the masses in one fell swoop. On the other, is it really driving sales and bolstering the company’s brand, especially given the pressure to make the most noise?

Consider these findings presented in the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association’s (RAMA) new “2008 Super Bowl Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey”:

While most viewers say the game itself is still the most important part of the Super Bowl (46.7 percent), 41.5 million consumers (26.3 percent) will tune in because of the commercials. Most viewers said they view Super Bowl advertisements as entertainment (75.7 percent), though a small percentage think they make the game last too long (11.1 percent) or that they are bothersome (4.3 percent).

Despite the fact that a vast majority of viewers consider Super Bowl ads to be a form of throwaway entertainment, advertisers — especially manufacturers — are pushing this notion aside in an effort to re-invigorate business, as the Associated Press points out.

Kraft Foods, Bridgestone, Audi and Coca-Cola, for instance, are all betting big this Super Bowl Sunday, according to AP.

For first-timer Kraft, this year’s big game serves as a launch pad to propel Planters beyond the $3 billion packaged nut business into the $20 billion salted snack business. The marketing director for salty snacks at Kraft tells AP that nuts tend to be bought by adults 45 and older, while salty snacks (including chips, pretzels and popcorn) tend to be bought by people ages 35-55, and by men more than women — just the kind of people who watch the Super Bowl.

Another first-time sponsor of the Super Bowl, tire maker Bridgestone Firestone North America has invested in two spots and sponsorship of the halftime show. Audi, a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, is coming back to the game after nearly two decades, while Coca-Cola Co., will have three or four spots.

Add Anheuser-Busch, typically the biggest advertiser of the Super Bowl, General Motors and Pepsi — which are spending millions of dollars to get their marketing message to this massive audience — and it’s pretty clear that major manufacturers still deem it important to dip into their marketing war chests come Super Bowl Sunday.

The average cost of a 30-second commercial during Fox’s broadcast this year is $2.7 million, according to Adweek. (The network acknowledged selling one spot for $3 million.) That is up slightly from last year when the going rate was $2.6 million and more than double the 1997 price of $1.2 million, notes CNNMoney.com. Fox is expected to take in a total of $225 million in advertising revenue on Super Bowl Sunday, according to sources familiar with the situation (via Adweek).

But let’s not forget about the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, as these also prove consistently to be huge sales drivers for manufacturers and their retail partners. According to RAMA’s research:

• Consumers plan to purchase 3.9 million televisions for Super Bowl Sunday, up more than 50 percent from 2.5 million last year;
• Viewers plan to purchase 1.8 million pieces of furniture, up from 1.3 million last year; and
• Total spending for this weekend’s championship game is expected to reach $9.5 billion.

The Super Bowl offers a great opportunity for manufacturers wanting to re-invent themselves from a branding perspective or use the event to bump up supply to retail partners — that is, if they can afford it. But is this one annual event really as good as it seems?

Perhaps one pitfall is giving consumers what they want. Sure, we like the commercials as entertainment. But according to RAMA’s research, almost one in five (18 percent) Super Bowl viewers wishes that, when it came to advertising, companies would just save their money and pass the savings along to shoppers.

Resources

2008 Super Bowl Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey
Retail Advertising and Marketing Association, Jan. 23, 2008

Companies Banking on Super Bowl Ads
by Seth Sutel
Associated Press, Jan. 28, 2008

Fox’s In-Game Super Bowl Ads Sold Out
by John Consoli
Adweek, Jan. 30, 2008

Super Bowl Ads: $2.7 Million and Worth it
by Ben Rooney
CNNMoney.com, Jan. 25, 2008

Fox’s Super Sunday Ad Take: $260 Mil.
by John Consoli
Adweek, Jan. 31, 2008