• by Wayne Friedman , February 4, 2010

CBS appears to be on track to gross more Super Bowl advertising revenue this year than NBC did a year ago. And the network may not be done selling the big game.

Although CBS said it was sold out on Monday, demand is still strong for the game, and some sponsors might be added.

"We have marketers trying to get into the game; we are trying to figure out if we could expand the walls," said Jo Ann Ross, president of network advertising sales for CBS Television.

Like other networks selling the Super Bowl, there is some flexibility when it comes to adding commercials, so-called "floater" commercials coming around late-game timeouts and official play-call reviews.

Typically, TV networks get around sixty-two 30-second commercials avails to sell in the game. The NFL does place restrictions on the amount of inventory sold.

Although General Motors will sit out the big game again this year, CBS says it did well in the automotive category. "The cars were healthy for us, especially the imports -- Hyundai, Kia Motors, Volkswagen, and Honda Motors. Chrysler came in a couple of weeks ago."

Another big Super Bowl category -- movies -- might be down a bit from previous years, where virtually every major studio seemed to buy at least one 30-second spot. Right now, Walt Disney, Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures have bought time. "But that doesn't mean we only sold three units [for movies]," adds Ross.

"Some spots" were sold north of $3 million. "We did better in terms of pacing [than a year ago]," says Ross. "On the average price, we did better than a year ago."

The average price for the game is believed to be in the $2.5 million to $2.8 million range for a 30-second commercial. Last year, TNS Media Intelligence said NBC's total take on the revenue for the Super Bowl -- in-game, pre-game, and post-game -- advertising activities amounted to $213 million.

New and returning advertisers this year include Boost Mobile (part of Sprint), clothier Dockers, vacation rental service HomeAway, shoe apparel company Skechers and Motorola.

Perennial Super Bowl dot.com advertisers are also back in the game: Cars.com, Careerbuilder.com, Godaddy.com, and Monster.com.

The pre-kick advertiser is Hyundai -- the key commercial position right before the start of the game. The post-game sponsor is Intel.

Interpublic's media agency Initiative lifted its efforts in the Super Bowl this year -- amounting to 15% of all Super Bowl inventory sold, the company says, around ten 30-second commercial units.

A big chunk also went to auto brands Hyundai and Kia. Initiative's Super Bowl roster includes TV set maker Vizio, mobile phone video service, Flo TV and soft-drink Dr Pepper.

"We generally believe in the power of the Super Bowl," says Tim Spengler, president of Initiative USA. "It gets unmatched attention for the advertising received in an in-theater [like] environment." He says on average, five viewers watch the Super Bowl together in one location.

"It is the highest co-viewing of TV," he says. "The shared experience makes it more powerful."

As with other marketers and media agencies in the Super Bowl, Initiative will be analyzing social media as a key element of consumer sentiment concerning the performance of commercials.

First, Initiative will examine social media though its PropheSEE research effort. It offers up an initial "flash" study the day after the Super Bowl, which will measure word of mouth and buzz through social-media platforms. Two to three weeks later, another effort will dive deeper in social media and digital online discussions.

Given the Super Bowl's last two big record-breaking games, in 2008 and 2009, in terms of viewership, Spengler advises clients to commit to the event if it meets their marketing objectives: "It's the only predictable event in media."