Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Hanging on to the last threads of the Superbowl...

Media buyer: Super Bowl ad-demand highest since 1999
Optimum Sports' head of sports media, Tom McGovern, explains the enduring demand for Super Bowl ads, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. He notes that demand for this season's game is higher than any year since the dot-com boom, saying, "For mass brands and mega-multibillion-dollar brands, reach is still critical."

Face it, it's time to let go
Oh advertisers, you're so funny.
You remind me of:
  • Movie and cinema distributors when Video came on the scene and then when DVD came on the scene and then when downloads came on the scene
  • Record companies when downloads became the norm
  • Writers striking over DVD release and now downloads (which is pretty fair in any case)
And what happened in the end?? The movie houses lumped it, record companies are being laughed at for their insensitivity to music fans and the writers will have their way.

Don't you guys get it? Things have changed. Just because the Superbowl is the last of the massive reaching broadcast programs out there, doesn't mean it works. Soon, buying on the Superbowl is going to be an auction based system, where the highest bidder sees the results.
It doesn't make any sense at all.
Advertising, TV ads especially, are sexy. The production, the shoots, the catering- it makes for a good day at the office. But in the end, it doesn't really benefit the client and the consumer gets to laugh for 3 seconds after a 30 second spot.

Maybe the Superbowl should also move with the times. Initiate a contest to see what ads should make it on to the Superbowl. It is after all an institution, a global one, so there is no reason why votes can't go global and get even bigger reach, more user participation and a bit of longevity.
The only problem in this mythical world is the network and they're on the way out anyway (internet TV and the like), so better they make a move now rather than getting trapped in the past.

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