• by Wayne Friedman , January 31, 2011

The Super Bowl may not be as super as a year ago -- in terms of viewers -- but what viewers it will get will be more interested in what marketers have to say.

Some 68% of U.S. adults plan to watch Super Bowl XLV, a 3% point drop from 2010, according to branding firm Hanon McKendry, and pollster Harris Interactive.

Last year's Super Bowl game between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts hit a record of 106 million viewers -- the highest viewing ever for any television program. This was up from from 98.7 million in 2009.

But the poll noted there was a 6% point gain to 54% of those polled who plan to tune in for the commercials as much as the game. And it's assumed that this demo will be somewhat likely to discuss commercials on social networks. This figure rose from 48% in 2010.

Bill McKendry, founder and chief creative officer at Hanon McKendry, stated: "We're seeing the fusion of social media with broadcast media, broadcast events and live events everywhere in the communications and advertising industry."

The study says far more women plan to watch the game than men -- especially for the commercials: 65% of females; 45% of male viewers. Hanon McKendry says women are two times more likely than men to watch exclusively or predominantly for the commercials: 25% of female viewers vs. 12% of male viewers.

Harris Interactive fielded the study on behalf of Hanon McKendry between Jan. 11 and Jan. 13, 2011, interviewing a nationwide sample of 2,026 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. The sample included 975 men and 1,047 women.