• by Seana Mulcahy , January 21, 2008

It's that time of year again -- everyone is talking about football. Now that we're getting ready for the big game, I thought I'd get up to speed on who's advertising during the NFL's Super Bowl XLII.

Let's recap last year's game first. CBS aired it. A whopping 93.2 million viewers were said to have tuned in. Thirty-second spots cost as much as $2.6 million.

So this year Fox has the game, and has gotten upwards of $3 million for a :30.

Here's a rundown of who and what we know about the ads, as reported in Ad Age:

Of course there's beer. It wouldn't be the NFL Super Bowl without Anheuser-Busch. The "King of Beers" has a whopping 10 spots. Everyone looks forward to the Bud and Bud Lite ads.

Then there's cars: Audi of America purchased a :60 in the first quarter. The VW-owned company is said to be taking a "Godfather" approach to tout the R8, Audi's new sports car with a starting price tag of $109,000.

It's no surprise that GM purchased a :60. It will be in the second quarter.

Toyota Motor Sales is reported to have two spots. I'm not sure of the length but one is for the Sequoia, the redesigned SUV. The other is for the Tundra pick up truck.

Hyundai Motor America is already being talked about. The company was said to have pulled out of the game, but now it's back in with two :30s in the third quarter. Not sure what the company is promoting, but rumors say it's a new luxury car called the Genesis.

The Web site Cars.com has two :30s between breaks of the first and second, and third and fourth, quarters.

I guess Bridgestone tires falls under this category, too. The company has purchased two :30s during the same timeframe as Cars.com. Ads will tout the company's higher-end tires.

Garmin GPS has purchased a :30 in the second quarter. I guess the company is creating its own buzz prior to the game by promoting it at the end of the month.

Food and Drink

Coca-Cola has purchased several ads but I wasn't able to find out details.

Pepsi-Cola North America. I'm not sure what was purchased, but the company typically has a good minute-and-a-half to two minutes in the game. The company is said to be promoting a new partnership with Amazon.com where consumers can download MP3s. Justin Timberlake will be featured.

Hershey is said to be in, but I don't have details.

Gatorade has two spots (maybe more). The company plans to promote G2, its new beverage, in a spot that uses professional athletes.

Frito-Lay has a :60 between the first and second quarters. Similar to last year, the company is using amateur content to promote Doritos. This year it's a contest for unsigned musicians to have their song professionally produced and aired.

Kraft Foods has a :30 in the second half of the game. The company will be promoting Planter's, which has never been promoted during the game. In fact, the company hasn't placed an ad in a good 10 years.

Entertainment and Leisure

NFL: I've heard mixed information. I think it's one ad. The organization will be letting fans vote on football videos.

Walt Disney Co.

Universal Pictures

Paramount Pictures

Sony Pictures


Technology and Telco

T-Mobile -- a :60 in the second quarter, promoting the My Faves service.

Dell has :30 spot in the first quarter.

Looking good

Victoria's Secret has a :30 in the second half of the game.

Under Armour has a :30. A new cross-trainer line will be promoted.

Unilever has a :30 during the two-minute warning in fourth quarter. The company is said to be using the Super Bowl to kick off a new global campaign using past and present celebrities.

Procter & Gamble has a :30 in the second quarter promoting instant stain remover Tide-to-Go.


Other ads to note:

FedEx has a :45. Not sure of the details, but the company's past ads are some of my faves.

Careerbuilder.com has two :30s, one in the second quarter and one in the third. The company's spots are always focused on unhappy workers. The company fired its agency last year, as it failed to score well in USA Today's consumer poll of favorite Bowl ads. Yikes! Fingers crossed for the new agency this year.


GoDaddy.com. I'm not sure what they have or what wackiness the company's CEO will get approved this year. We'll have to wait and see.

Salesgenie.com, a mail order company, is said to have three spots: one in the pre-game, one in the first quarter, and one in the third.

So last year we saw a smattering of UGC, search engine marketing, word of mouth, and usage of social media sites among all the traditional vehicles and tactics. Do you think it will be the same mix for this year? I'd like to see smarter media mixes around the game. Post to the Spin blog and share your thoughts or dish about any details of any ads I've missed .