Our Steve Merino joined Dan Levy on Bleacher Report Radio to discuss Super Bowl commercials and the creative process. What were his favorites? Hint: You’re not you when you’re hungry.

Someone’s excited for the Super Bowl commercials! Settle down, Steve.

Who’s ready for the Super Bowl … commercials? Our team has plenty to say about Sunday’s big ads. So our Steve Merino put on his best radio voice and joined Phil Feliceangeli on WDOV/WILM. From babies on roller skates to talking horses, here was Steve’s take:Read full post...

Happy 30th birthday, Mac.

I had the TV on Sunday morning as I sat down to write about an Advertising Age article claiming that 80% of Super Bowl ads flop. In the background I hear Charles Osgood, host of CBS Sunday Morning, mention that this week marks the 30^th anniversary of Apple’s famous “1984” Super Bowl commercial. A commercial that ran only one time, mind you. That is the antithesis of a Super Bowl ad flop. Thirty years later and people are still talking about it. Amazing. Do you think that in 2043 people will be marking the anniversary of the Go Daddy commercial in which supermodel Bar Refaeli makes out with the nerdy Walter? Not very likely.

The one-minute commercial — directed by noted director Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator) — was made for a then-unheard-of production budget of $900,000. It went on to garner millions of dollars worth of free publicity, as news programs rebroadcast it that night. It was quickly hailed by many in the advertising industry as a masterwork. Advertising Age named it the 1980s “Commercial of the Decade,” and it continues to rank high on lists of the most influential commercials of all time. “1984” was never ever broadcast again, adding to its mystique.Read full post...

Spectators have come to expect the quality of advertising at the stadium to equal the quality they see on TV during the Super Bowl.

Sports marketing has been around at least since the 1870s, when a tobacco company started making baseball cards and sticking them in cigarette packs. Any sports fan will tell you that there is a special level of respect for those advertisers that sponsor their favorite team. Nowhere is this respect more evident than within the realm of professional football.Read full post...

After a slew of recent halftime scandals, network execs now bite their nails and hope the performer sticks to his or her script to avoid a PR nightmare!

Come Sunday, I — along with millions of other Americans — will be sitting on my couch surrounded by good friends, ice-cold beer and wings. My eyes will be glued to the nearest flat-screen to watch (and criticize) the Super Bowl halftime show. Aside from the advertisements, this spectacle is one of the main reasons many people even watch the Super Bowl. So it’s safe to say that the stakes are high.

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With such massive price tags, these commercials better deliver.

On February 5 NBC will broadcast the epic rematch between the Giants and Patriots. But maybe your team didn’t make it to the big game. Will you still watch Super Bowl XLVI? Of course you will. You’ll watch for the same reason about 54% of viewers do — the commercials.

On one night each year the titans of marketing and advertising attempt to wow us with about 50 minutes of the most expensive commercials on television. NBC has sold out all commercial airtime for the big game, reporting that the average cost this year for a 30-second spot is $3.5 million, with some time slots costing as much as $4 million. That’s a 16 to 25% hike from the $3 million average cost last year. With such massive price tags, these commercials better deliver.Read full post...