• by Masha Geller , February 26, 2002

Now that the Olympics are over, the ad world is anxiously awaiting the results of some ad campaigns that ran during the last two weeks both online and on NBC. Chances are the wait will be considerable, seeing how we’ve had to wait more than a month for results of some pre-Super Bowl campaigns.

We all know the clear winners were Pepsi and Yahoo!, but Information Resources, Inc. today announced results of IRI Pulse: Super Bowl XXXVI, which examines supermarket sales of food products during the week leading up to the Super Bowl.

“CPG manufacturers historically pull out all the stops to capture shoppers' attention during the weeks prior to the Super Bowl, and this year was no exception,” said Ed Kuehnle, group president of IRI North America. “The competition among CPG manufacturers, as evidenced by the millions spent on advertising, in-store promotions and new product launches can be as intense as the game itself.”

This year's Super Bowl was a success overall for CPG manufacturers and retailers, the survey concluded, as supermarket dollar sales were up 6% versus prior year. Standout performances were noted within each major category as determined by incremental dollar sales during Super Bowl week versus the previous three-week average: carbonated beverages benefited from fantastic runs by new products, such as PepsiCo's Pepsi Twist (+35%), Diet Pepsi Twist (+28%), and Mountain Dew Code Red (+24%); within beer/ale/alcoholic ciders, seasoned players Corona (+38%), Bud Light (+36%), and Budweiser (31%) were clear winners, while relative rookie Smirnoff Ice (+34%) also had a strong showing; and salty snacks' all-pros include Wavy Lays (+77%), Lays (+52%), Tostitos (+46%) and rookie Tostitos Scoops (+46%).

“The Super Bowl is a critical event for many CPG manufacturers. They carefully create their own play books and build the best teams of products and promotional partners,” added Kuehnle. “By closely monitoring sales data, they can measure their own performance and predict sales, while also identifying their allies and adversaries for next year's Super Bowl blitz.”