Manizesto

Next Sunday you’ll probably be watching America’s most hailed sporting event, the Super Bowl. And if you’re a small business owner that doesn’t have the requisite (put your pinkie finger to your mouth) 2.7 million dollars to buy 30 seconds of advertising on Fox during the big game (plus the hundreds of thousands you’ll use to actually develop the ad), don’t feel too bad.

First of all, there is debate about whether or not the ads actually work, (TiVo has been able to shed some light on this) and whether or not the prevalence of celebrities in Super Bowl ads add or detract from the brand supposedly being promoted. There are some interesting statistics and trends going on with the ads that should help you feel better about not being able to reach those 93.2 million consumers with a clever ad promoting your company.

Here’s why you should say “Who Cares?”

1. Of the millions you would reach, probably less than half of a half of a percent -that’s being generous- of consumers are in your target audience.
2. The millions you would spend, (or raise, then spend) could be used to develop a new product line, hire the best people in your industry, or drastically expand your business.
3. Super Bowl ads are competing with so many other advertisements, the attention span of viewers, the Half Time show and the game itself that it’s hard to be heard and remembered.
4. Super Bowl Ads are best for companies with established brands and reputations. They are soft selling, not hard selling, and you can’t establish a brand in 30 seconds.

These are not hard and fast rules; just think about how GoDaddy.com took off after airing a memorable ad a few years back, but for the most part it’s best to focus on cost effective, easy to measure tactics that will get you a strong ROI.

Now take a look at all the Super Bowl ads for the past 10 years. 

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