Super Bowl Ads Still Draw Top Dollar
February 3rd, 2010

We all know that strong advertising can help to make or break a company. At Synergy Marketing Consultants, we know better than anybody that cost-efficient marketing can go a long way. Some businesses, however, are willing to spend big bucks to advertise their brands. And this is certainly the time of year where big businesses dole out huge sums of cash to showcase their companies to the world.

That's right, it's Super Bowl time! With the National Football League Championship on the line this coming Sunday between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints, it is safe to say that many people throughout North America will be tuning in for the big game. It may even be safer to say that a good portion of those viewers will be tuning in to check out the commercials.

As strange as that may sound, each year Super Bowl commercials are talked about as much as, if not, more than the big game itself. And this is not something reserved simply for American football fans. As Stefania Moretti of the QMI Agency reports in today's edition of The Toronto Sun, advertising spots for the Canadian broadcast of the Super Bowl “sold out ahead of schedule and at top dollar”.

According to Rick Brace, the president of revenue, business planning and sports for CTV, 29 companies grabbed approximately 50 available 30-second ad slots at full price. Among the companies that Canadian Super Bowl viewers will see ads from this Sunday are PepsiCo, Labatt (Budweiser), Ford, Wal-Mart, RBC, Subway and Hyundai.

Last year, a recession-hit Canada was offered reduced prices for commercial slots during the Super Bowl. Evidently, the economy is on the road to recovery. As Moretti writes: “Brace said the early sellout proves the market has improved...This year, ad space on CTV sold out nearly two weeks in advance.”

Brace added: “That’s a big change because we were right down to the wire last year.” It should be noted that with the Super Bowl being one of the highest rated television events of the year, paying for a 30-second commercial slot during the broadcast is nowhere near cheap.

And while CTV did not reveal the exact price tag for these slots, Moretti reveals that reports on last year's going rate was approximated at $117,000. That's $3900 per second of ad time!

However, Moretti reminds us that our American counterparts are shelling out upwards of $3 million or more to advertise during a 30-second commercial slot on CBS during the Super Bowl! And yep, those slots are all sold out too!