Super Bowl Ads Still Not Sold Out

It could be a sign of the times...but in what way?

Ads for the Super Bowl, the most watched public television event are weaker than usual this year, despite evidence of a recovering economy.

30 second ads are selling for $4.4 million, which is admittedly a lot of Doritos - or even Chevrolets.

The drop off is due to less interest from car and tech companies. Despite the size of the audience, this may be a sign that vanity advertising is no longer considered necessary, especially given the growing power of the internet. While the network - NBC - expects to sell all the space it has available, it may be discounting to do so.

And even though it claims that next year's event will cross the $5 million per 30 second mark and many people watch tv with their smartphones in hand, this could be a tipping point. Tech doesnt really need TV and auto makers may also be coming to the conclusion that cross-over sales arent strong enough to justify the expenditure anymore. JL

Bruce Horowitz reports in USA Today:

Besides a drop in auto ad sales both tech and wireless have been weaker than expected.
The most expensive Super Bowl ever still has advertising space for sale, and NBC is filling the holes left by a dearth of car ads with a possible record number of first-time game advertisers.
That is the frank, teleconference assessment on Wednesday from Seth Winter, EVP sales and marketing NBC Sports Group and NBCUniversal News Group. "It's been a little tougher than some years," he said. "We're not impervious to conditions in the marketplace."
Even then, Winter said, NBC is 95% sold out and "much further along" than it was in 2012. The 30-second slots are selling for a record $4.4 million to $4.5 million, he said and the network still expects to "meet or exceed our sales goals" and be sold out by kickoff.
The story of the day is carmakers, who seem to have backed away from the Feb. 1 game broadcast. For years, Super Bowl TV networks have depended on automakers to snap up a major chunk of the ad slots. But Winter says the number of auto-related ad slots sold is down by nearly half, from the mid-20s in 2012 to "the low teens" this year.
A key factor, he says, is a lull in new models launching within the Super Bowl's general time frame and, thus, a lack of new products that would justify Super Bowl ad prices.
That's left open lots of slots — which mostly are being filled by newcomers. Winter says there are 15 rookie Super Bowl advertisers signed up so far this year.
But Winter insists that the ads by the new advertisers will be Super Bowl-worthy. "These are all very, very reputable companies," he said. "It's not some small firm in some desolate part of the country that hasn't done TV advertising."
Only five of those 15 Super Bowl rookies thus-far have raised their hands to announce they are in: Skittles, Carnival, Loctite, Mophie and Wix.com. Winter declined to name any of the others, but said they are widely spread across product categories, including digital.
Besides a drop in auto ad sales, he said, both tech and wireless have been weaker than expected. At the same time, he noted, sales have been strong in malt beverages, insurance, soft drinks, gaming, fast food, movies and apps. And cheaper post- and pre-game ads are "virtually" sold out, he said.

Winter argues that Super Bowl ad time can be worth twice this year's price of up to $4.5 million per 30 seconds. He says that NBC research finds that adding in all the video and public relations impressions the ads generate, their real value is closer to $10 million per 30-second slot.
Does that mean that next year's network, CBS, could be the first to charge $5 million per 30 seconds — and $10 million for a full minute?
"I can't address how our friends at CBS will price and package the game," said Winter.
But it might be a bet worth taking.