Super Bowl Commercial Prices

While the current state of our economy has driven down the price of Super Bowl tickets, the cost of 30 second ad space continues to climb. Last year, Fox charged $2.7 million on average but NBC, the network hosting Super Bowl XLIII, has reportedly sold most of its Super Bowl ads for $3 million per 30 second slot. That price is an all-time high and a bit of a surprise during this time of recession, but NBC has already sold about 90 percent of its slots so most big companies are still ponying up. The 10 percent price hike is roughly double what has come to be expected as the annual increase. I guess NBC, which has not hosted the Super Bowl since 1998, is looking to get its money’s worth. But regular Super Bowl advertisers FedEx and General Motors are sitting this one out. How ironic it will be to see companies push ads about our tough economic times, as Hyundai is expected to do, knowing they spent $3 million to send the message.

Because the Super Bowl typically commands more than 90 million viewers, most companies are still going to take the plunge. It is crazy to think that the price per 30 second ad has nearly doubled over the past decade. But the commercials have become the reason why some people even watch the game and nearly as big as the game itself, with critics analyzing the best and the worst commercials in the days following just as they analyze the game. Super Bowl ad space definitely brings a new spin to the old saying “time is money”. All I can say is that if companies are willing to shell out the big bucks, their commercials better be top notch.

Why has it come to this? Why are people so interested in Super Bowl commercials? It all started in 1984 in Super Bowl XVII which was also played in Tampa Bay, Florida. The Los Angeles Raiders beat the Washington Redskins by a landslide, 38-9. More interesting than the game, in the opinion of most viewers, was Apple’s “1984″ commercial advertising their Macintosh computer. The one-time only ran ad was more talked about than the game in the coming days and its popularity became the benchmark for the type of zany Super Bowl ads we have come to expect. In 1989, USA Today started its Super Bowl Ad Meter to rate the commercials. Recently, not only has Budweiser been the king of beers, it has also been the king of Super Bowl ads. From 1999-2008, either a Budweiser or Bud Light commercial has taken home the winning rating in the poll. Last year, Budweiser went vintage to win, parodying the 1976 Rocky picture with one of its famous Clydesdale’s being inspired by an unusual trainer.

History of Super Bowl Commercial Prices (30 second ad)
1967 40,000
1968 54,000
1969 67,500
1970 78,200
1971 72,000
1972 86,000
1973 103,500
1974 107,000
1975 110,000
1976 125,000
1977 162,000
1978 185,000
1979 222,000
1980 275,000
1981 324,300
1982 345,000
1983 400,000
1984 450,000
1985 500,000
1986 550,000
1987 575,000
1988 600,000
1989 675,000
1990 700,000
1991 800,000
1992 800,000
1993 850,000
1994 900,000
1995 1,000,000
1996 1,100,000
1997 1,200,000
1998 1,300,000
1999 1,600,000
2000 2,100,000
2001 2,050,000
2002 1,900,000
2003 2,100,000
2004 2,250,000
2005 2,400,000
2006 2,500,000
2007 2,600,000
2008 2,700,000
2009 3,000,000