By ROBERT GOLDRich
ATIS THE SEASON TO HUNT down details of spots set to air on the Super Bowl. This annual ritual has become a bit more daunting in recent years, and 1999 has arguably proven the most difficult in terms of gathering info, as agencies and advertisers have become particularly reticent while production houses and others in the commercialmaking chain are similarly cautious, often bound by nondisclosure agreements. Still, the industry grapevine provides some sense of whos doing what, as evidenced in this weeks lead story.
But why is advertising on the big game seemingly more hush-hush than ever? Obviously, the stakes are higher, reflected by the record price tag of $1.6 million for 30 seconds of commercial time. Yet the raised stakes go higher and deeper than any dollar figure. Indeed, the Super Bowl embodies a commodity that has become increasingly rare in an era of heightened media fragmentation: a mainstream event that delivers a mega audience and, most importantly, something that Americans are sure to be talking about at water coolers come Monday morning quarterbacking time.
Its no longer an automatic proposition for broadcast networks to reach an all-encompassing audience. Today, they are in desperate need of truly special programming; hence the stratospheric per-episode payouts for ER and Seinfeld, CBS mind-boggling contract for AFC football, and, yes, the premium placed on Super Bowl advertising. With fewer opportunities to meaningfully reach a large cross-section of viewership in a single buy, its little wonder advertisers and agencies feel the need to be more secretive. In some cases, its as if theyre guarding sensitive government documents pertaining to national security. But, clearly, its insecurity about the market that spawns a cloak of secrecy.
Some insight into that market is shed by a communications industry forecast from investment bank Veronis, Suhler & Associates (VSA), which reports that while the total amount of time the average American spends using consumer media will remain virtually staticait already averages 9.2 hours per dayadollars and hours are shifting toward newer technologies. Over the last five years, time spent with media primarily supported by consumersacable TV, recorded music, consumer books, home video, movies, video games, online servicesaincreased by 32.6%, or 275 hours. In contrast, time spent with media supported primarily by advertisersabroadcast TV, radio, daily newspapers, consumer magazinesafell by 9.3%, or 231 hours. By 2002, VSA predicts that time spent with consumer-supported media will grow an additional 23.2%, or 260 hoursaagain offsetting a nearly equal, 10.2% decline in time spent with advertiser-supported media, or 230 hours.
Even as consumers shift dollars and hours, advertisers are chasing down the newer media with increasing shares of the overall advertising budget, reports VSA. For example, online advertising quadrupled in 1996 to $200 million, more than quadrupled again in 97 to $906 million and is forecast to swell to $6.5 billion by 2002.
VSA, however, notes that advertisers are far from abandoning traditional media, and it forecasts that from 1997 to 2002 broadcast television will still enjoy a compound annual growth rate of 6.1%. VSA concludes that the very fragmentation of the ad market appears to boost spending. Expanding ad options have enhanced advertisers ability to reach their target audiences. And in that mix, traditional media like broadcast TV remain the best ways to reach a broad audience. The cable audience itself is fragmenting among proliferating players, leaving broadcast networks as yet unchallenged in reaching a mass audienceathe centerpiece example being the Super Bowl, unless at some point its determined that more money can be made from the big game as a pay-per-view event; but thats another column altogether, and an alternative that makes advertiser secrecy seem a small price to pay for the shared, unifying audience experience of enjoying the big game and rating its commercials.
Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. Explore Generations, Old School vs. New School, In “Poppa’s House”
Boundaries between work and family don't just blur in the new CBS sitcom "Poppa's House" starring father-and-son comedy duo Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr. They shatter.
"It's wonderful to come to work every day and see him and some of his kids and my sister and my brother and nieces and nephews. They all work on this show. They all contribute," says the senior Wayans. "I don't think there are words to express how joyful I am."
Wayans plays the titular Poppa, a curmudgeonly radio DJ who's more than comfortable doing it his way, while Wayans Jr. plays his son, Damon, a budding filmmaker who's stuck in a job he hates.
"My character, Pop, is just an old school guy who's kind of stuck in his ways," says Wayans, who starred in "In Living Color" and "My Wife and Kids."
Pop yearns for the days when a handshake was a binding contract and Michael Jordan didn't complain if he got fouled on the court. Pop laughs at the younger generation's participation trophies.
"It's old school versus new school and them teaching each other lessons from both sides," says Wayans Jr., who played Coach in the Fox sitcom "New Girl."
"They (the characters) bring the best out in each other and they're resistant initially. But then throughout the episode they have revelations and these revelations help them become better people," he adds.
The two have worked together before — dad made an appearance on son's "Happy Endings" and "Happy Together," while son was a writer and guest star on dad's "My Wife and Kids." But this is the first time they have headlined a series together.
The half-hour comedy — premiering Monday and co-starring Essence Atkins and Tetona Jackson — smartly leaves places in the script where father and son can let... Read More