An ex-advertising insider’s take on the Super Bowl Commercials

So everyone is talking about the Super Bowl.

I just finished reading at least ten articles about tomorrow’s big event but most of them seemed focused on the Super Bowl highlights rather than the actual game itself.

Maybe I went to the wrong sites. I should have gone to the New York Giants and the New England Patriots fan blogs or local newspapers. But then again, maybe not. After all, I’m still sour from the losses of my favorite teams. I have three. The Texans, The Ravens and The Bears. You would think one of them would have made it to the Super Bowl.

But anyhow.

The articles I read talked about the greatest Super Bowl commercials, the lucky singer who will belt out the National Anthem tomorrow who’s probably having therapy right now to calm the jitters, what the opening program would look like, the halftime show and of course, which advertisers will pay millions of dollars this year to soft sell their brands to the hundred million people expected to watch the tube.

AdAge figures shocked me.

In 2009, advertisers paid NBC a whopping three million dollars for a 30 second TV spot. Wow. That’s a lot of faith on the money making powers of television. On the brighter side, the commercials that usually air on the Super Bowl are quality ones. The kind of stuff that makes you reschedule a quick trip to the snack bar or the powder room during commercial breaks. At least, these giant advertisers respect their audience enough by giving them only the best.

I happened to have the golden opportunity to previously work in the marketing department of a national TV station and a couple of global advertising agencies in the past so I have a few insiders info on what goes on in the kitchen before the steaming hot TV ads get to your living rooms.

Have you seen Mel Gibson in the movie What Women Want?

Well, that’s just one facet of advertising. The creative side where all the crazy things happen during the conceptualization, approval and pitching the concept of an ad. When Mel put on pantyhose and lipstick to actually internalize the potential feeling of his target market, the scriptwriter may not have been exaggerating.

Needless to say, the actual production of the approved concept, the back and forth coordination of the Accounts Executives all the way to the media research, negotiations and spot placements were not shown.

With the Super Bowl which is the most sought after primetime program of the year, my guess is, all the national ad placements have already been negotiated for and placed as early as first quarter of last year. The only spots left open after that time frame were those given to smaller advertisers without enough buying clout to muscle their way in and the local ones.

That’s just my guess.

Obviusly, the creative ads were being pitched as early as last year and going back and forth from advertiser to ad agency gazillion times over until production finally got approved.

As for the TV network, they didn’t have to sell the Super Bowl to their clients as much because the numbers already speak for themselves. Ratings and audience share really only matter to people placing ads when the program being sold is either average or a hit and miss. When that happens, you focus on the specific target market, the cost efficiency and the quality of the programs. For those who are consistently acing the ratings, placements are prone to getting bumped because you can only put so much ads in a specific program segment.

Again, my opinion.

I worked in advertising and the TV network a long time ago as an overworked, competitive and idealistic young blood always eyeing the corporate ladder and enjoying the perks. Who knows? Maybe things have changed already.

Oh well.

It’s time to hit the gym for some Kickboxing to beat the gloominess outside. It’s raining again. Nature doesn’t care about the Super Bowl as much as we mortals do, I guess.

Anything for entertainment.

So, tomorrow, get your selves ready for some football, some halftime entertainment and a load of creative, quality and award winning TV commercials from the hardworking advertising kids of this generation.At least, you now have an idea on how they may have made it happen.

Props to the advertising team for their brilliance and props to us for appreciating it.

Enjoy!