NY companies pass on Super Bowl ads

Crain's New York Business

Pamela Appea

Published: January 29, 2008 - 2:52 pm

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080129/FREE/158208374&SearchID=73307343047348

The New York Giants can’t seem to get enough love from New York advertisers.

Of approximately 30 companies signed on to advertise during the Feb. 3. game, only four are located in New York—E*Trade Financial Corp., New Line Cinema Corp., Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Pictures and Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Brothers.

New Line will feature a spot from actor Will Ferrell’s new movie Semi-Pro with a tie-in from beer company Anheuser-Busch, while Paramount Pictures will have a 30-second spot promoting its upcoming Iron Man movie.

Warner Brothers hasn’t made public its planned ad, but likely candidates include 10,000 B.C., set for a March release, and Speed Racer, which opens in May.

And E*Trade will shell out over $5 million for two thirty-second spots in the third and fourth quarters; high-profile ads the brokerage helps will boost its struggling business.

This year will feature some Super Bowl stalwarts, including the National Football League, Frito-Lay and CareerBuilder.com, while companies that include Victoria’s Secret and Kraft Food will get their first Super Bowl Slot in nearly a decade, according to Travis York, president of Manchester, N.H.-based marketing firm Griffin, York & Krause.

New York companies will regret not getting in the game. Companies with Super Bowl ads have seen their stock prices top the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index in 10 out of the last 12 years, according to a recent study by the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

They’re also virtually guaranteed at least 93 million viewers.

“The teams in the game don’t typically have much to do with which advertisers get involved,” Mr. York said.

“But of course having major-market teams will certainly increase overall viewership, making advertising during the game even more appealing.” And not everyone’s in it for the game.

According to a recent study by the Retail Advertising & Marketing Association, over 36% of Super Bowl viewers tune into the game specifically to watch commercials.

Fox, which will broadcast the game, is expected to receive anywhere from $2.6 million to $3 million for each 30-second spot it sells, and one television executive believes Giant fever could increase Fox’s pre- and post-Super Bowl ad spending by as much as 50%.

Total ad spending is expected to hit $275 million.