Dot-com advertiser pulls out of Superbowl broadcast

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NEW YORK (Reuters) – Now Hear This: Dot-Com company pulls out of Super Bowl ad bash. Will buy more ads later on instead.

Angeltips.com, an Internet company that aims to bring together entrepreneurs and investors via its Web site (http//www.angeltips.com), said Wednesday it decided to shift its money from ABC Television’s Super Bowl broadcast to other programs later in the year.

How things change. Last year, Internet companies were spending their entire annual advertising budget on a 30-second spot in the Super Bowl broadcast, at a cost of up to $1.8 million. For the upcoming Jan. 30 broadcast, companies have paid as much as $3 million for the opportunity to strut their stuff in front of the football game’s 135 million viewers.

“Angeltips.com had one 30-second spot,” said Jake Wengroff, a spokesman for the New York-based company. “In lieu of one spot, they will now be in a series of ads on the ABC Network going forward. At this time, we don’t know what shows they will be in.”

Wengroff said the firm, whose advertising agency is Bartle Bogle Hegarty, was to have spent an estimated $2.5 million out of its total $10 million advertising budget on the Super Bowl ad. “Everyone’s still friends,” he added. “There are no broken contracts. They still have the money with ABC.”

Officials at ABC, owned by the Walt Disney Co., could not be reached for comment.

The network does not have any more advertising inventory available for the broadcast, and industry experts said it should have little difficulty selling the Angeltips.com time slot for up to $3 million.

Wengroff, in response to a question, said Angeltips.com’s decision to pull its ad from the broadcast was not a public relations move intended to garner more exposure for the fledgling company. “This was not just a public relations move,” he said.

The company aims to formally launch its Web site in the spring.