Highlights include record levels of commercial time and the expanded presence of short messages and smaller advertisers

New York, NY, February 8, 2010 – Kantar
Media released its annual post-game analysis of Super Bowl advertising,
complete with insights on this year’s new entrants, top categories and
advertisers, as well as a complete log of all commercials and
respective the pod position.

“In
many respects, the annual Super Bowl discussion serves as a microcosm
of the many issues facing advertising at the time, and this year
certainly was no different,” says Mark Nesbitt, President of Kantar
Media’s Intelligence sector. “ROI, broadcast versus digital campaigns,
the direction of creative, the strength of the television audience were
all being debated. In the final analysis, CBS sold out its inventory
faster than the last time it broadcast the event in 2007, we saw the
entry of some new advertisers into the game and once again consumer
interest and engagement in the ads was on a par with the game itself.
So if the Super Bowl is a barometer on the overall state of
advertising, this year’s game certainly made a positive statement.”

A
complete log of all commercials, their pod positions and actual
creatives are available at: Kantar Media Super Bowl Creative Log

Record-setting Level of Ad Time
Super
Bowl XLIV featured a record-setting amount of network commercial time.
Between the opening kickoff and the final whistle, CBS aired 47
minutes, 50 seconds of advertising messages, almost three minutes more
than the 2009 game, the previous title holder. The figures include
paying sponsors, messages from the NFL and promotional plugs from CBS
for its own programming.  The past five games now occupy the top five
spots in terms of Super Bowl ad clutter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top Advertisers
Excluding promotional ads aired by CBS and the NFL, 41 different companies aired a total of 66 messages within the game. The top four advertisers in terms of total ad time were Anheuser-Busch InBev, Hyundai, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. This group accounted for 25 percent of the total paid ad time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

First-Time Advertisers
Of
the 41 companies that ran messages in the game, 22 percent were
first-time Super Bowl advertisers. This proportion was higher than 2009
but in line with the levels of prior years.

 

 

 

 

 

The
2010 all-rookie lineup was Electronic Arts; Focus on the Family;
Google, HomeAway.com; kgb (Knowledge Generation Bureau); Monsanto, Papa
John’s; Skechers USA and Qualcomm’s Flo TV service.

In
addition, several other marketers returned to the Super Bowl after a
long hiatus. These include the Dockers brand from Levi Strauss (last
advertised in 2002); Dr. Pepper (2001); and the U.S. Census Bureau
(2000).

More :15 Second Ads
Given
the expensive price of Super Bowl ads and lingering concerns about the
health of the consumer economy, some marketers apparently opted for
frugality and ran 15 second messages in the game. Although :30 units
remained the dominant form, short-length spots reached their highest level since the 2002 game.

 

Smaller Advertisers Crash the Party
The
recent trend of smaller, less-established marketers accounting for more
of the Super Bowl ad time continued in 2010. The Top 200 advertisers,
which account for more than one-half of all U.S. ad spend, are a useful
reference point for analyzing the marketer lineup. 63 percent of the companies in the 2010 game fall outside of the Top 200, the highest level in the past decade – and quite probably the highest for any Super Bowl.

 

 

 

 

 

Top Categories
Dot-coms
edged out auto manufacturers and beer as the leading Super Bowl ad
category. Eight different dot-com companies aired in-game ads, a
comparable number versus recent years. However, the total amount of air
time was lower than 2009.

Reflecting the recent uptick in automotive advertising, car manufacturers had a
strong presence with Audi, Chrysler, Hyundai, Kia, Honda and Volkswagen combining for 5:30 mm:ss of ad time.

The
exclusive beer category sponsor was Anheuser-Busch InBev. It ran 5:30
mm:ss of messages for the Budweiser, Bud Lite and Michelob franchises.

Technology cracked the Top Five list behind ads for Flo TV, Intel processors and Vizio’s internet-enabled TV sets.

Motion
pictures had their smallest footprint in at least a decade. Hollywood
has been attracted to the Super Bowl as a promotional platform to build
awareness for upcoming releases and in 2009 movies were the dominant
category with 7 minutes of ad time. This year, only six films from four
studios (CBS Films, Disney, Paramount and Universal) had commercials
and total air time was a meager 2:45 mm:ss.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About Kantar Media
Established
in more than in 50 countries, Kantar Media enables exploration of
multimedia momentum through analysis of print, radio, TV, internet,
social media, and outdoors worldwide. Kantar Media offers a full range
of media insights and audience measurement services through its global
business sectors – Intelligence, Audiences and TGI & Custom.  
Combining the deepest expertise in the industry, Kantar Media tracks
more than 3 million brands and delivers insights to more than 22,000
customers around the world.  (www.KantarMediaNA.com).