The Stupidity of Advertising in the Super Bowl

If you are a local business that bought advertising time on your local Fox TV affiliate to air in the 2017 Super Bowl, I’d like to talk to you about the money you wasted.

If you are a business that bought advertising time on the Fox TV Network for the 2017 Super Bowl, you better have deep pockets and a helluva follow up plan.

Anyone who spends a million bucks for 30 seconds of air time is bordering on crazy.  And I heard that 5 million was the price for a half minute on Fox this year.

But this article is about the locals, not nationals.

Why am I so down on advertising during the NFL championship?  After all, isn’t this the big daddy and the place to be so “everyone” knows about your company and brand?

That was true about 20 years ago.  But today, no.

We have seen a huge growth in viewing options recently and the number of choices to watch this years Super Bowl is greater than ever.  I can watch online, on various subscription channels or my favorite watering hole.

We also have the option to not watch football and to watch anything else.  I have not watched an entire NFL game from start to finish this season and so this will be the one and only game I will watch.

I could have written this article 20 years ago with the same title, “The Stupidity of Advertising in the Super Bowl” and left out 90% of what you just read.  Here’s the real reason I think spending your advertising money to be in this game is dumb:

You’ve blown a big chunk of money on an ad that is going to be forgotten.  You can’t compete with the national advertisers for production quality.  Odds are your TV commercial is going to be seen in the 3rd or 4th quarter and depending on how the game goes, viewership will either drop or stay steady. If it’s a blow out, then less people will be paying attention.

Look, most people are not going to take action and spend money with you because your business was on TV during the Super Bowl.   Unless you have a consistent plan that uses the principles of both reach and frequency, you are one and done.

When I watch the game, I’ll be taking note of the local businesses that though advertising in the Super Bowl was a good idea.  Then I’ll reach out to them this month and help them develop a winning strategy for the whole year.  If they have any money left.

If you are one of those local advertisers and you are offended by what you just read, then let’s talk and I’d love for you to show me and educate me.

If you are a local advertiser who bought commercials in the game because it sounded like a good deal, then perhaps you could use a marketing coach.  I can help with that too.