The old adage says that you can’t compare college to professional football. But that’s changed, at least in a symbolic sense, when entering the ad arena for Super Bowl XXXIV in Atlanta. On Dec. 31, ’99, Colorado University defeated Boston College in the Insight.com Bowl. While some would say that the sponsorship moniker sounds ludicrous even by college bowl game standards, it’s fitting in light of the upcoming Super Bowl telecast (1/30), which has already been dubbed the "Dot-com bowl" in some circles.
Collectively, dot-com firms have purchased at least 20 percent of the some 60 ad slots available on ABC for the Super Bowl. Reportedly, 30 seconds of ad time is going for an average in excess of $2.2 million. That price tag far exceeds last year’s record-high average of $1.6 million per :30 that was fetched by the FOX network. There are reports of some Web firms paying as much as $3 million for 30 seconds on Super Bowl XXXIV. E*Trade paid a rumored $3.8 million to sponsor the Super Bowl halftime show; the company plans to run four spots on Super Sunday-two airing in pre-game coverage, two during the game itself-directed by Bryan Buckley of bicoastal/international Hungry Man for Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco.
The ever-escalating cost of media time on the Super Bowl underscores its significance to the ad sector. The Big Game 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 talk about at water coolers come Monday morning.
The chance to make a major splash sets the stakes even higher for dot-com companies that are looking to establish name recognition, and to generate consumer hits on their sites. The heavy involvement of dot-com firms in the Super Bowl raises a couple of interesting subplots. Several contend that this month’s Super Bowl could prove to be a pivotal event and have a lasting effect on the dot-com landscape. The dot-com advertisers that establish themselves successfully on Super Sunday gain a leg up in a market that, while surging, is due for some shakeout. PaineWebber has projected that dot-com ad spending will continue at a very high rate during the first half of 2000, but will soften in the second half. Some conjecture that there will also be a shift in ad strategy from creating brand awareness to convincing consumers that they can benefit from going to certain sites.
Then there’s the inevitable second-guessing that a dot-com company that shot its wad and failed to connect with consumers during the Super Bowl might have been better served by spreading its ad budget across varied media buys. The bottom line is that for many of the dot-com Super Sunday participants, their investment represents a major roll of the dice in a potentially volatile marketplace. In fact, recently rethinking its position was Angeltips.com, an Internet company that aims to bring together entrepreneurs and investors. The firm pulled out of the Super Bowl last month, deciding to shift its budget to other programs later in the year. Angeltips.com had originally bought a 30-second berth in the fourth quarter of the Big Game. The agency for Angeltips.com is Bartle Bogle Hegarty, New York.
The second subplot to watch is whether or not the dot-com companies-a product category with a track record of creative risk taking-will breathe new life into an advertising event that has been somewhat lackluster creatively in recent years. Or will too many of the dot-com firms succumb to the temptation to opt for outlandish "try-me" approaches, and in the process create more clutter?
HD CONFIDENTIAL
Dot-com firms aren’t the only new wrinkle in the Super Bowl fabric. As earlier reported (SHOOT, 6/4/99, p. 1), ABC and Panasonic Broadcast & Television Systems are teaming to telecast the Super Bowl in HDTV. The game will be broadcast in 720P, ABC’s selected HD format. ABC’s traditional analog broadcast of the game will also continue.
At press time, a veil of secrecy surrounded which advertisers intend to experiment with HD on Super Sunday. Larry Chernoff, president of post/effects enterprise 4MC Television and the Encore Group, headquartered in Burbank and Santa Monica, said that two of the Encore facilities are involved in HD finishing for several projects that might air during the Super Bowl telecast.
Encore Hollywood has a spot being posted in HD that’s been green-lighted for Super Sunday, according to Chernoff. And Riot has potentially two to three HD jobs that could appear on the Big Game. As SHOOT went to press, Chernoff wasn’t at liberty to disclose the identities of the advertisers.
Word is that a couple of earlier-aired Panasonic spots-one promoting its hi-def TV sets, "Just A Bit of Magic/HDTV," and the other its DVD players, "Just A Bit of Magic/DVD" (See SHOOT’s DTV+Advertising Supplement, 9/17/99, p. 6)-are slated to run during the Super Bowl. The former included excerpts that were shot with an HD camera; the rest was lensed on film. The latter spot was shot entirely on film. The director was David Cornell of bicoastal Headquarters. Both commercials were finished in HD, with key contributions from artists at Manhattan Transfer, New York, and The Tape House’s Advanced Imaging Center, New York. Agency was Grey Advertising, New York.
DOT-COM LINEUP
As per usual, during this pre-pre-game juncture, many advertisers, agencies, production houses, post shops and other support services were reticent about their Super Bowl projects, especially spot storylines. Nonetheless, through the industry grapevine and other circuitous routes, SHOOT garnered details and credits for some of what could emerge during the Super Bowl telecast.
Among the confirmed dot-com advertisers this upcoming Super Sunday are a couple of returnees who made their Super Bowl debuts in ’99: HotJobs. com out of McCann-Erickson Detroit, Troy, Mich.; and Monster.com via Wenham, Mass.-based agency Mullen. Andrew Douglas of bicoastal/international Satellite, was the director for Monster.com.
Noam Murro of Stiefel & Company, Santa Monica, helmed the work for HotJobs.com. In the ads, actor Samuel L. Jackson has been hired to be the voice of a six-foot hand that represents the cursor on computer desktops, dovetailing with the HotJobs. com slogan, "Hottest Hand On The Web." Conceptually, the hand represents an aggressive, smart, uninhibited super agent who will negotiate for you as sweet a deal as possible.
Another job search Web site, Kforce.com, is breaking a Super Bowl spot entitled "Faaade," directed by Peter Smillie of Smillie Films, Venice, Calif., for Grey Advertising, New York, with visual effects by Sight Effects, Venice. CareerMosaic. com is also scheduled to appear during the Big Game, with an ad directed by Nicholas Barker of bicoastal/international Chelsea Pictures for Merkley Newman Harty, New York.
Look for the return of the spokesdog/sock puppet for e-tailer Pets.com out of TBWA/ Chiat/Day, Los Angeles. Director is Doug Nichol of bicoastal/ international Partizan.
AutoTrader.com will debut its :30, "Whoosh," during the third quarter of the game. Directed by Buddy Cone of Los Angeles-based Palomar Pictures, the spot shows a consumer accessing the kinds of used cars he’s interested in from a sea of virtual inventory. AutoTrader. com is positioned as the site that can make the process easier not only for obtaining a car, but also a loan and insurance. The tagline: "Your car is waiting." Agency is Doner, Southfield, Mich. Visual effects were done by Venice-based Digital Domain.
LastMinuteTravel.com will unveil a :30 directed and shot by Dick Buckley via bicoastal Flying Tiger Films for New York agency Burkhardt & Hillman. The commercial-which also features visual effects helmed by Alex Seiden of Cyclotron, New York-stars a pair of e-cowboys in search of cyber-vacations at the eleventh hour. Buckley is no stranger to Super Sunday success. He helmed the lauded McIlhenny Tobasco spot, "Mosquito," for DDB Dallas, which first aired in four spot markets during the ’97 Super Bowl, and then nationally the next year during the Big Game. In the spot-which went on to win a Cannes Gold Lion-a mosquito explodes after sucking the blood of a guy eating a slice of pizza that’s splashed with Tabasco sauce.
Incidentally, McIlhenny’s Tabasco is now returning to the Super Bowl with what’s believed to be a regional spot directed by Charles Wittenmeier of bicoastal/ international Propaganda Films for DDB Dallas. And back in the dot-com universe, Wittenmeier also helmed an Onmoney.com Super Bowl ad via DDB Chicago, as did Nick Piper of Plum Productions, Santa Monica. The Piper-directed spot features an animatronic monster.
Underscoring the importance of the Super Bowl investment is Computer.com which plans to run two spots during pre-game and one in-game, all directed by Lloyd Stein who recently joined bicoastal Headquarters. Agency is Merkley Newman Harty, New York. Dedicated to educating and advising computer novices on what to buy, Computer.com has reportedly generated $500,000 in revenue to date. Its Super Sunday ad time purchases amount to some $3 million.
Right before the opening coin toss, Charles Schwab is slated to run an ad, possibly for its online investment services. The spot was directed by David Cornell of Headquarters for BBDO New York.
WebMD has a spot helmed by the director/design collective known as Tomato via bicoastal Curious Pictures for Ogilvy & Mather, New York. Tomato is also directing a Wall Street Journal commercial for Arnold Communications, Boston.
OurBeginning.com, an online provider of personal stationery for weddings and other significant life events, will air a commercial directed by Bruce Logan via Disney i.d.e.a.s., Lake Buena Vista, Fla., for agency Bennett & Company, Orlando. (Logan is repped via The Directors Network, Studio City, Calif.)
Also set to air on Super Sunday is an ad for Brittanica.com from Deutsch, New York. At press time it wasn’t known if either a new spot would be produced or perhaps an existing commercial would be picked up for the Big Game. The existing fare includes a recent campaign directed by Mark Pellington of Crossroads Films, bicoastal and Chicago. The package consists of four spots: "Lili" starring actress Lili Taylor, "Norman" with noted author Norman Mailer, "Seal" with recording artist Seal, and an ad featuring filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola.
Other technology companies are coming aboard the Big Game bandwagon. MicroStrategy, a software provider, is running two pre-game spots and one ad during the game. The client-direct work, facilitated by Beaucoup Chapeaux, Dallas and New York, was co-directed by David van Eyssen and Ashley Beck via bicoastal The Moment, an arm of bicoastal The End. (Van Eyssen and Beck are in the process of shifting over to the new production venture being launched by Liz Silver and Luke Thornton, former principals in The End.) Beaucoup Chapeaux, which normally serves as a broadcast department for ad agencies that don’t have one, served in that capacity for MicroStrategy. The spot that’s slated to air during the Big Game, "Kathy’s Plan," depicts an executive who’s on a moving airport terminal walkway. Via MicroStrategy software, she’s receiving up-to-the-minute stock information which she acts upon immediately. Meanwhile, another man at the airport is beside himself, confused about his investments as he attempts to contact his stockbroker via cell phone. The other two spots in the package are entitled "Eddie’s Plan" and "Family Reunion."
Technology firm EDS will run a Super Bowl commercial, "Herding Cats," directed by Hungry Man’s John O’Hagan for Fallon McElligott, Minneapolis. With visual effects from Sight Effects, the spot demonstrates EDS’ prowess for managing the unmanageable by showing cowboys wrangling a herd of cats, somehow creating order out of chaos.
And tech advertiser Netpliance is slated to debut a Super Bowl spot promoting its iOpener, a non-computer product that offers Internet access. The commercial was directed by Albert Watson of cYclops, New York, for agency McGarrah/Jessee, Austin, Texas.
SUPER FAMILIAR
Although McDonald’s decided not to buy time on the Super Bowl telecast, several Big Game perennials remain, including Anheuser-Busch, PepsiCo, Federal Express and Visa International. Anheuser-Busch has bought five minutes of airtime as the exclusive beer advertiser on this year’s Super Bowl and plans to run 10 spots during the game-but which ones? The company seems to be sticking to its modus operandi of recent years: producing assorted prospective ads, and waiting a few days prior to Super Sunday to choose which will air.
Among those up for consideration is more "Lizards" fare, directed by Tom Routson from bicoastal Tool of North America for Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco. Visual effects were done by Digital Domain. Also in the running is a Bud Light spot helmed by Eddy Chu of Backyard Productions, Venice and Chicago. There’s a Budweiser commercial directed by Dante Ariola of Propaganda, but SHOOT couldn’t confirm which of the client’s agencies was involved. There has also been talk of a spot for the Anheuser-Busch-owned Adventure Parks’ Discovery Cove via DDB Chicago. Other agencies in the Anheuser-Busch mix include The Leap Partnership, Chicago, and Open Minds, Laguna Beach, Calif.
A Band Apart Commercials, Los Angeles, appears to have three Anheuser-Busch ads set to run, all for DDB Chicago: "Only The Best," directed by Rent Sidon; "Give Me The Keys" helmed by Richard D’Alessio; and "Neighbors," directed by Wayne Isham; the latter has been airing recently.
PepsiCo, Federal Express and Visa are all out of BBDO New York. There appears to be a spot for PepsiCo soft drink Mountain Dew in the offing. And word is that Headquarters’ David Cornell directed the Visa work.
It’s believed that 7-Up will also have a commercial during the Super Bowl, directed by David Kellogg of Propaganda for Young & Rubicam, New York.
The aforementioned Andrew Douglas of Satellite has directed a spot for investment bank firm John Nuveen & Co. out of Fallon McElligott, Minneapolis. Rumor is that the Super Bowl ad features actor/director Christopher Reeve, who has become an eloquent spokesman for the rights of the physically challenged after being rendered quadriplegic from a horse riding accident.
There are BMW ads slated to run out of Fallon McElligott, Minneapolis; Oldsmobile via Leo Burnett Co., Chicago; and Motorola from McCann-Erickson, New York. Oygen Media, the new cable TV network and Web site for women, is scheduled to air an ad during the second quarter of the Super Bowl. Agency is Mullen, Wenham, Mass. Tropicana is introducing a spot that stresses the nutritional benefits of orange juice via FCB Worldwide, New York. Not known at press time were Nike’s plans via Wieden & Kennedy, Portland, Ore.; its "Body" spot featuring Tour de France-winning cyclist Lance Armstrong could wind up on the Big Game. Director was Ralf Schmerberg of bicoastal/international @radical.media.
Director Jim Gable, via Santa Monica-based Atlas Pictures, has directed a client-direct spot, "Stadium," promoting the home video and DVD release of the Disney animation film Tarzan for Buena Vista Home Entertainment. There’s talk of another possible Disney Super Bowl ad directed by Robert Leacock of @radical.media, but that could not be confirmed at press time.
In addition to the earlier referenced McIlhenny’s Tabasco spot, another Super Bowl ad slated for regional play is for GM Delphi from McCann-Erickson Detroit, Troy, Mich. Director is James Holt of Flying Tiger Films. An ad for telecommunications company Qwest via J. Walter Thompson, New York, may also run regionally. And there’s talk of some exposure for an anti-smoking PSA directed by Jaume of The End via Phoenix agency Riester-Robb.
SHOOT confirmed that certain artisans are working on Super Bowl spots, but at press time they weren’t at liberty to reveal the identities of their advertiser and agency collaborators. For example, Joe Pytka of PYTKA, Venice, has directed a spot (believed to be for Federal Express). Kinka Usher of House of Usher Films, Santa Monica, has helmed work for a couple of clients. And Olive Jar, Boston and Burbank, wrapped some animation sequences in conjunction with another studio for a Super Bowl ad.
A SHOOT STAFF REPORT
