Are you getting psyched about the Super Bowl? Or are you getting psyched about Super Bowl commercials?
The NFL's big clash sometimes seems less about pigskin than about advertising, as sponsors fight to stand out among the fusillade of spots coming at viewers on the most-watched program of the year.
Here's some ratings perspective. Last year's NFL championship match between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers was seen by 111 million Americans, making it Nielsen's most-watched broadcast ever. Meanwhile, the top-ranked prime-time series of the 2010-11 season, American Idol (again), averaged less than 26 million viewers.
Where would you go to make an ad splash?
Last year on Fox, the 2011 Super Bowl raked in nearly $228 million in ad revenue, airing nearly 100 commercials. This year's Sunday match on NBC between unlikely underdog New York Giants and the much-loathed (outside their home turf) New England Patriots is expected to earn around $245 million in gross ad revenue. And the commercials are expected to stir as much conversation as the football.
It's already happening, in fact, as advertisers start to "sneak" their spots early as buzz bait. (Bueller. Bueller. Bueller.) Trade papers, both print and online, roll out increasing advance coverage of the Super Bowl ad race. Sports books even take bets on which commercials will air when and which will be the most popular. And USA Today is readying not only its annual Ad Meter controlled survey of ad impact but also adding a Facebook Super Bowl Ad Meter in which random viewers can vote.
There's so much coverage now, the actual airing of Super Bowl game spots is starting to seem anticlimactic. (Kind of like the game itself most years.) So why not wallow beforehand, then hit an empty movie theater Sunday? Or watch that TV marathon of How It's Made, Absolutely Fabulous or Charlie's Angels instead?
Here's an intriguing assortment of advance Super Bowl commercials whoop-de-doo to click to:
Super Bowl Ads for Geeks
Super Bowl Ads Bingo!
Search, Social Networks Also Cash In
How USA Today's Ad Meter Broke Super Bowl Advertising
12 Ads That Changed Super Bowl Marketing
How Apple’s ’1984′ Ad Was Almost Canceled
The 10 Best Super Bowl Ads of All Time
Favorite Serious Super Bowl Ads
Hulu Ad Zone - Super Bowl
Super Bowl Commercials Rated
Super Bowl Spending Reached $1.72 Billion Over the Past 10 Years
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