Typically, a one-hour television program has about 13 minutes of advertising on it. The Super Bowl, in contrast, which is almost a four-hour spectacle, has 46 minutes of advertising. I
Typically, a one-hour television program has about 13 minutes of advertising on it. The Super Bowl, in contrast, which is almost a four-hour spectacle, has 46 minutes of advertising. It has between 85 and 90 ads, which means tremendous clutter and the likelihood for ads to be recalled the next day is questionable. The cost of a 30-seconds ad in yesterday’s Super Bowl was nominally $6.5 million. The actual cost is exponentially higher: There’s also the cost of producing the commercials, many of which use expensive special effects, and “teaser” spots; as well as enlisting top-tier celebrity talent and Hollywood directors, together with the licensing of popular songs. Then, there’s the price of doing a social media campaign in order to get the word out about the commercial. There are, as well, public relations campaigns. Sometimes there are even hidden fees snuck in: In recent years, some TV networks have sought an additional purchase of TV time as part of a Super Bowl buy. The real cost of a 30-second spot can easily reach $50 million! It’s now getting to the point where the decision to advertise in the big game requires the approval of a company’s board of directors, not just the CMO alone.
