GM, Pepsi Won't Run Super Bowl XLIV Commercials

The Super Bowl will air on February 7, 2010 on CBS, but with just over a week until the big day, Super Bowl XLIV commercials are already a hot topic. As reported earlier this week, there is some controversy related to a Super Bowl commercial featuring Tim Tebow, sponsored by a conservative group named Focus on the Family. The ad has thus far been cleared by CBS, and its air time is not yet known. What other Super Bowl shockers will be talked about after the big game? Will it be the commercials that aired during Super Bowl XLIV or the commercials that didn't?

Who's missing from Super Bowl XLIV commercial line-up?

A huge shocker is that Pepsi will not be airing ads during the Super Bowl. In December, ESPN reported that Pepsi would not air commercials during Super Bowl XLIV because Pepsi decided to instead pour their advertising dollars into marketing their product online. Pepsi's parent company, Frito-Lay, will air Doritos ads on Super Bowl Sunday related to Doritos' "Crash the Super Bowl" contest.

Is this a good move for Pepsi, considering that Coca-Cola and Dr. Pepper are investing their advertising dollars into Super Bowl commercials? Or is Pepsi ahead of the curve by focusing instead on marketing their product online? Coke has an immensely popular ongoing rewards program, My Coke Rewards, which consistently builds brand loyalty due to the rewards attached to entering the codes found on products. Perhaps Pepsi realized that it needs to compete with Coke's loyalty program and dumping Super Bowl ads is a smart business move.

Last year, Frito-Lay spent $33 Million on Super Bowl ads featuring brands like Pepsi, Cheetos and Gatorade, so Frito-Lay opting for just a few Doritos ad spots means significant savings of their advertising dollars.

GM will also not be running any Super Bowl XLIV commercials this year due to the astronomical cost of running a 30 second slot during the big game, which costs between $2.5 - $2.8 Million per slot. This was no real surprise since GM was bailed out last year by the U.S. Government, which still owns a majority stake in the company. Foreign automakers like Hyundai, Kia, Honda, Audi and Volkswagen all have ads scheduled to run during the Super Bowl. Though a firm advertising list of companies that will run ads isn't known, the list on Adland.tv does not include Chrysler or Ford, both of whom were in nearly the same boat at GM this time last year.

According to Adweek, over the past twenty years, GM was ranked second only to Anheuser-Busch in spending on Super Bowl ads. The absence of GM commercials during Super Bowl XLIV is likely not to go unnoticed by football fans, considering all of the foreign automakers who will be running ads during the game.

On the other hand, the absence of such heavy hitters in the ad line up for Super Bowl XLIV is a testament to the economic situation gripping America. Much like families are forced to make tough decisions on where to spend their money, companies must do the same.

Sources:

Adland.tv's Super Bowl XLIV Ads Spoiler Alert
ESPN: Pepsi Turns Ad Focus Online
Adweek: TNS: Cost of Super Bowl Ads Has Quadrupled