• by Seana Mulcahy , January 16, 2006

Well it's that time of year again. Just about everywhere you look it's football, football, football. Being a Boston native, I'm a bit bummed our beloved Pats are out. Nonetheless, I'll be watching for the ads more than the game.

I feel that the last two years were somewhat disappointing. Advertisers seemed a bit too conservative. I guess this was the tone set by the well-remembered wardrobe malfunction at the half-time show a couple years ago.

Will this year be different? Well there doesn't seem to be a shortage of ads. Thirty-second spots are selling for $2.5 million this year, up from $2.4 million last year.

So who's buying, you ask?

According to Ad Age:

American Home Health One 30-second spot

Ameriquest Mortgage Co. Two 30-second spots

Anheuser-Busch 10 spots throughout the game

Bayer One 30-second spot in the first quarter

Buena Vista PicturesOne spot, length unknown

Burger King One 60-second spot after kick-off

Career Builder.com Two 30-second spots

Emerald of California One 30-second spot in fourth quarter

ESPN One 60-second spot

FedEx Details unknown

Ford Motor Co. One 30-second spot

General Motors Corp.'s Cadillac One 60-second spot in the second quarter

Nationside Insurance One 30-second spot in second break of the third quarter

New Line Cinema One spot, length unknown

Procter & Gamble Co Details unknown

Pepsi-Cola Co. Four 30-second spots

Sprint Two 30-second spots, one in second quarter and one in the third, plus sponsor of half-time show featuring the Rolling Stones

Subway Details unknown

UnileverWarner Bros. Three 30-second spots

What is it with American advertising and the Big Game? Certainly 90 million viewers is phenomenal. But check out the audience. It's about as diverse as it could possibly get.

In a recent Washington Post article, Edward R. Erhardt, president of advertising sales at Super Bowl broadcaster ABC, is quoted saying, "Fans and consumers come to the TV on that day with one thing in mind, and that is to watch ads." But then he goes on to say, "Football--they're coming to watch that, too."

Large advertisers McDonald's and Visa have opted out of the Big Game and chosen the Winter Olympics instead. Although it's 5 days later, will it have the same appeal?

I had a bunch of friends that liked the GoDaddy.com ads last year. I didn't at all. Well, this year they've submitted a wardrobe malfunction-esque mockery. Guess what, it got banned. It seems, too, that ABC didn't like the tone of the much-talked-about erectile dysfunction (ED) ads and said no to an ad for Levitra, an ED drug. It's too bad some shops opt for shock value versus creativity.

Speaking of creativity (or lack thereof), I always struggle to find advertisers that are not only creative but who utilize multi-platforms. Why not drive to the Web for a contest? Or a trivia game? Or viewer polling? No one seems to be all that impressive integrating with online. The best example I can think of is the first Victoria's Secret fashion show years ago. However, ironically many viewers couldn't access the site due to overload.

So what's next, dear readers? Won't someone please step up and incorporate the Web AND devices already? After all if someone can cough up $2.5 million for 30 seconds of airtime , think of what WE could do in the digital world. Maybe this is wishful thinking on my part.

Will you be watching the ads this year? What are you looking forward to seeing? Is the pressure for unique, big-brand-building creative too much? Who will have the "best" ad? Post your predictions to the Spin Board and I'll check back with you next week.