Commentary

Super Bowl's Commercial Content Gets Pre-Game Internet Viewing -- Raising Questions For Future

by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, February 7, 2011

Spending $3 million on a Super Bowl ad -- and then releasing it early on YouTube? Someone is losing "content" exclusivity on the commercial.

In a continual effort to monetize the entire Super Bowl marketing experience, a number of advertisers again released their TV commercials in advance of the Super Bowl itself. What was going on here?

Talking babies, frisky chimpanzees, men being hit in their private parts with an assortment of objects, hot women, associations with pop culture icons like Darth Vader, spy-theme messaging, and fast cars: We have all seen it before -- so why not earlier?

In recent years, to extend their big Super Bowl media and creative spending, marketers have continued to stretch out their campaigns with contests and the like.

The trend started five years ago when Frito-Lay pushed its Doritos brand with consumer-generated TV commercials starting in September -- six months before the Super Bowl. This year sister brand Pepsi Max joined the mix. Before the game itself, potential winning commercials from both brands were available on digital platforms.

Now, other marketers -- movie companies, in particular -- have also released their Super Bowl spots early. A Paramount spot for "Cowboys & Aliens" was released early Sunday, for example. Movie marketing executives, of course, have long practiced advance buzz/spin, to help drive anticipation of new films weeks before their release. The game itself featured 14 commercials previewing new titles.

Non-movie brands getting into the commercial pre-release act this year included Volkswagen's "Kid Vader" spot -- spinning off the Darth Vader "Star Wars" character -- that was on YouTube for some time before the game. It's received and some 13 million Internet views. And Careerbuilder's "Parking Lot" ad -- featuring the brand's continued focus on monkeys -- received more than 200,000 views.

Surely, pre-Super Bowl viewing numbers of 200,000, and even 13 million, don't come close to the more than 106 estimated million viewers from the Super Bowl's TV exposure. But you can see where this is headed.

Growing media platforms look at movie commercials and TV promos as "content," but was't someone getting hurt here? Fox, which broadcast this year's big game, wasn't too worried about losing exclusivity. While average consumers do have big interest in checking out Super Bowl commercials, the dominant reason to watch the Super Bowl remains the football action.

Still, you have to wonder -- way down the road -- if this may become an issue. If advertisers release all 60-odd TV commercials before the game, will TV networks still be able to command $3 million or so for a 30-second commercial?

Historically, TV networks have always ceded to the wishes of their advertisers in deciding on their marketing plans -- including how and when they release their messaging materials.

With the release of content from Super Bowl marketers changing radically, future TV networks might need to address this activity -- or, perhaps, capitalize on it.

super bowl, television, tv

4 comments about "Super Bowl's Commercial Content Gets Pre-Game Internet Viewing -- Raising Questions For Future ".

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Thomas Siebert from BENEVOLENT PROPAGANDA, February 7, 2011 at 4:08 p.m.
Lotta buzz about the VW Passat commercial, but I've not seen anyone mention at all is how smart it was of VW (and hopefully its ad agency Deutsch) to release the ad in its :60 version prior to Sunday, maximizing positive buzz ahead of everybody else.
Brilliant – particularly because the truncated :30 version that actually aired during the game was half as charming, half as funny, and half as good. Wonder how many people who rated it so highly were actually rating the version they had already watched online.
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Paula Lynn from Who Else Unlimited, February 7, 2011 at 5:54 p.m.

More cacaphony. Only Passat shined through and surpassed the rest. It told a story, complete story, a kind story. I could watch that one a few times and the story continues. However, I still won't be buying the car. That's another problem. Will the car manufacturer be remembered as much as the story?

Dan Ciccone from Tribal Fusion, February 7, 2011 at 6:27 p.m.

The SuperBowl is probably the premiere "social" TV event and many people watch the game just to see the commercials. IMO, showing your ad prior to the big game takes away from the discussion during the game. When everyone sees the commercial at the same time, they tend to discuss it in real time. Those who were exposed to the message prior to the game do not participate in the discussion or have limited participation. Marketers aren't extending their message - they're actually limiting conversation which can surround their message. People will react differently to an ad when they experience it with others vs. sitting down at their computer, alone, without anticipation, hype, fanfare, or influence from their peers.

Marc Williams from Williams Communications Group, February 7, 2011 at 7:47 p.m.

Thomas hit it on the head. Creating buzz ahead of the game had people actively 'looking' for the spot and telling their friends to look for it. I think VW got much more mileage (pun intended) with this approach than just another car spot during the Big Game. Well done.