Who's Not Going to the Superbowl?
by Chris Thilk
If you were looking for the tipping point for television advertising, I suggest you pay attention to the 2006 Super Bowl. While prices for a 30-second spot remained flat from last year at $2.4 million (urp) some major companies will not be suiting up. McDonald’s and Visa both are taking the year off, instead focusing dollars on the shortly thereafter and much cheaper Winter Olympics. McDonald’s reportedly is choosing not to buy time after all the negative reviews of the “Lincoln Fry” ad/fake blog, though that’s unconfirmed by the company. Even perennial advertiser Anheuser-Busch will be taking another look at Super Bowl ads come the 2007 game. They see that the huge amount of money they spend on a few commercials could be better used on more flexible forms of sponsorships and advertising. ABC would not comment on what percentage of the 58 spots within the game had been sold to date.