Say what you will, but Sunday’s SUPER BOWL was one for the record books with a 47.9 national overnight rating!
That’s the biggest audience for the game since the 1987 bowl and up some 3% over last year’s gridiron grindathon.
What’s more, here in Kansas City the telecast of the game on WDAF-TV produced an incredible 53.6 rating with a mind blowing 74.6 Share!
The game itself: GREAT! The national commercials? Maybe not so much this year.
I didn’t think they lived up to previous Super Bowl advertising efforts.
Granted the VW: Darth Vader, Coca-Cola: Border Guards, Paramount: TRANSFORMER 3, Best Buy: Ozzy Osbourne-‘What’s a Bieber’ and Mercedes-Benz: Puff Daddy spots delivered memorable messages. But after that, many-a-spot seemed to lack imagination and creativity.
They tried so hard to be cute, clever and funny that in most instances missed the mark.
To air a spot nationally during the game, FOX network charged a reported $3 million for 30 seconds of airtime.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE ADS THAT RAN HERE IN KANSAS CITY?
According to sources the tab for a 30 sec. spot in the game on WDAF-TV ran between $15,000 and $18,000, depending on when the buy was, made.
That was money well spent when you consider the great audience FOX 4 delivered its advertisers Sunday night!
(By comparison spots airing on the FOX affiliate in the Packers own backyard, Milwaukee, cost advertisers between $35K and $45K per 30 seconds.)
So which advertisers ran the best LOCAL spots during the game?
In my book the honors go to ST. LUKES HEALTH SYSTEM with its impressive 60 sec. spot that aired around 7:05 p.m.
(Remember that’s $ 15K x 2!)
First runner up: the 30 sec. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS spot.
Honorable mention: PARK UNIVERSITY which bookended the 7:01 p.m. local break with 2-15 sec. commercials.
And now you know the REST of the story…
Local TV rates
What made the local spots in the Super Bowl fluctuate between $15 and $18 grand? Why would one commercial have one rate while the next had the higher rate?
TV Rates
I would think that when and how the spots were purchased would determine their price. Like if an advertiser bought early he may have save a couple of grand. Or maybe a last minute UNSOLD avail in the local break was discounted.
Thirdly an annual buy with the station made by an advertiser may have allocated a lower price against the specific Super Bowl spot.
Who really knows EXCEPT the local sales manager at WDAF-TV.