Supermodel Adriana Lima stars in Kia Motors' America YouTube video.
1. It's no longer good enough to just have a Super Bowl ad – brands are now doing battle online with ads for ads. This is the year of the teaser. There was a Ferris Bueller-inspired 10 seconds, a real estate agent hanging out with an Olympic athlete, and scores of others. But now Kia may have just broken the Internet with its extended teaser featuring perpetually demi-nude supermodel Adriana Lima waving a checkered flag in slow motion – for five hours. That's one way to build brand loyalty among young males.
2. But wait, look over here! Forget the supermodel, we have grannies! On Feb. 9, WWF Canada is hosting National Sweater Day, where it asks Canadians to put on sweaters and turn down the heat to conserve energy. And who loves sweaters more than knitting-prone grandmas? Agency John St. has constructed a campaign featuring live grannies you can book for a phone call to remind you "to be a dear, turn down the heat, and put on that sweater." Your selected Oma, Bubbie, Nana or Grammy is standing by. There are multilingual grans, and even a Scottish nana who will scold you for not being hardy enough. And just think, you'll save money too, something to think about during these recessionary times.
3. As it turns out, the Super Bowl broadcast is recession-proof. While a shaky economy has led to fluctuating marketing budgets and yo-yo ad rates on television, advertisers have certainly been dashing in to grab a piece of the pigskin glory. According to Nielsen, the average cost of a 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl has risen steadily over the past five years, up 30 per cent to $3.1-million (U.S.) last year compared with $2.39-million in 2007. Meanwhile the average price of a spot during prime time programming has been much shakier. The average in 2007 was $105,576, a peak that has not been repeated in the following four years. . And there is more ad time over all: According to Kantar Media, there was 46 minutes and 10 seconds of ad time in last year's game, up more than three minutes from the 2007 broadcast, as marketers opted to pay extra for longer spots.
4. Here in Canada, the CTV broadcast counts Labatt, Chevrolet and Nissan among its major returning sponsors, and is adding McDonald's as a sponsor this year. Dairy Queen, Entertainment One, FedEx, Ford, Kraft, PepsiCo, Samsung, Toyota, and Universal Pictures have also bought commercial time, according to the network. And the channel's owner, Bell Media, will be looking forward to another sporting event – it will launch the latest instalment of the " Believe" campaign conceived for the Vancouver Olympics, in order to begin building anticipation for the London Games this summer. The new spots are voiced by Canadian actors Ellen Page and Gordon Pinsent. CTV will also be heavily cross-promoting the channel's own schedule, including midseason show premieres.