Aren’t Super Bowl Ads Supposed to Be Fun?

By Brian Powell
How much is the Super Bowl worth to the network that covers it? Well, according to various sources, the ads alone for this year’s telecast on FOX have generated more than $260 million in revenue for the network. The total for the national broadcast is expected to reach (only) about $225 million, but when you add in the local sales from all of FOX’s affiliates that puts that number near the $260 million mentioned above.
So what can you expect from this year’s advertising? Well, much like last year, that ads will seem to be toned down in nature. Since the Janet Jackson incident the quality of the commercials has drastically gone downhill, but maybe that’s because my sense of humor doesn’t mirror that of much of the viewing public. Ads in the past have been referred to as “crude and classless” and, quite frankly, those are the ones that made me laugh the most. Alas, it doesn’t appear that we will get many like that this year.
Some of the highlights to look for:
- An E-Trade ad where a baby talks into a webcam (exciting)
- A Dell Computers ad where they are raising money for AIDS in Africa (heartstrings)
- A Planters Peanuts ad featuring a redheaded woman with a unibrow (I’m not kidding)
- A Pepsi ad with Justin Timberlake (of course)
- And one of the first ads released to the public, a Garmin ad in which Napolean uses the technology to travel the crowded streets of Paris ...

With commercials like that I may just have to pay attention to the entire game. That’s no fun.↵