Tough Economic Times Have Some Advertisers Rethinking Super Bowl Spots

In the last few years the Super Bowl has become less about the football and more about the "other." The two weeks leading up to it are always a media frenzy, the predictions and prop bets are a fan favorite in Las Vegas and of course, the commercials.

The commercials are what people that don't care about the Super Bowl stay interested in. It's almost anti-American to actually use a commercial break to go to the bathroom. Well, with the tough economic times hitting our country and a lot of companies pulling money from their advertising branch first, the Wall Street Journal suggests that some regular contributors might bypass on the $3 million for a 30-second ad.

FedEx, a loyal Super Bowl advertiser, still hasn't decided if it will buy in. FedEx is concerned that shelling out big bucks -- at a time when it's "asking employees to do more with less" -- will look "wrong," says a person close to the company.

"Companies have to be mindful that jumping into the game can open them up to criticism," this person says.

Lucky for NBC, the network broadcasting the Super Bowl this year, most of the ads were sold in early September, just before the financial crisis took a left on Lose Your Money Avenue. The network still is reporting eight open ad spots for the big game, a number that if not reached could have some companies asking for a discounted price.

That and the worry that putting up ads when your employees are suffering might be the wrong basket to put your eggs in.

"With this much money on the line it can be a negative reflection on a company, especially if they are cutting back staff or getting a government bailout," says Steve Lanzano, chief operating officer at MPG North America, a media-buying unit owned by Havas.

With the regular players of Anheuser-Busch, CareerBuilder.com, Hyundai Motor, PepsiCo, Viacom's Paramount Pictures, Cars.com and Coca-Cola already in and Pedigree joining the show, it isn't all bad for NBC, but they are still stuck in the same position they found themselves two months ago.

NBC seems to have experienced some slowing of demand over the past few weeks. It says it now has about eight ad slots left to fill. That's roughly the same number that were left in September.

While I'm sure the ad space will fill before kickoff on February 1, it probably isn't the time to be tossing around big money to try and solve a problem that is bigger than your company. While I hear stories daily of companies cutting back on paper printing and small expenses, I find it way more logical to avoid the $3 million checks if money is really an issue.

Want to stick with a sporting event? Why not put your sign up at a WNBA game. It worked well for us and is just a tad less expensive.