Coke, Pepsi plan Super Bowl ad blitz

The Super Bowl comes this year against the backdrop of a recession, but the nation’s biggest advertising platform could be as important as ever for Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo.

Atlanta-based Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, based in Purchase, N.Y., will both use this Sunday’s NFL title game to reach consumers with major new marketing efforts.

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Coca-Cola Co.

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu is featured in the new commercial.

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Coca-Cola Co.

The commercial, to air during the Super Bowl on Feb. 1, will promote Coke Zero.

TOP 10 SUPER BOWL SPENDERS, 1999-2008
PepsiCo has historically spent more money on Super Bowl advertisements than Coca-Cola, which skipped the event altogether some years.
Rank; advertiser; # of years with ads; amount spent on ads
• 1. Anheuser-Busch, 10, $216.03 million
• 2. PepsiCo, 10, $142.84 million
• 3. General Motors, 9, $68.04 million
• 4. Walt Disney Co., 8, $57 million
• 5. Time Warner, 8, $55.69 million
• 6. FedEx, 10, $33.09 million
• 7. General Electric, 7, $30.88 million
• 8. Coca-Cola Co., 2, $30.51 million
• 9. E-Trade Financial, 5, $25.27 million
• 10. Visa USA, 7, $25.20 million
Source: TNS Media Intelligence

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Coke will be pushing a new “Open Happiness” campaign. It also will put a twist on the classic “Mean” Joe Greene commercial for a Coke Zero advertisement.

Pepsi recently launched a “Refresh Everything” campaign that includes new logos and packages. It also is expected to have ads for Gatorade and SoBe.

Despite the recession, the Super Bowl remains a powerful tool, said Ken Bernhardt, regents’ professor of marketing at Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business. It reaches a large number of consumers and attracts people who aren’t sports fans or heavy TV viewers.

“The big advantage that Super Bowl ads have over any other is the ability to reach a huge proportion of the population all at one time,” Bernhardt said. “That’s a particular advantage when you’re launching a new campaign where you don’t want to take six weeks to get your ad in front of people.”

Last year’s Super Bowl broadcast attracted an average of 97.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen Company. A Super Bowl 30-second ad cost $2.7 million, up 26 percent from 2003, according to New York-based TNS Media Intelligence. NBC is reportedly charging $3 million this year.

While some big names, such as General Motors and FedEx, have pulled out, demand remains strong this year for Super Bowl ads, said TNS Media CEO Dean DeBiase. Newcomers, including no-frills restaurant chain Denny’s, are filling the void.

Alternative outlets, such as digital media, are efficient at targeting specific consumers, but the Super Bowl remains a force for getting a message to the masses, DeBiase said.

“The Super Bowl is a powerful reminder that television is still the best medium for reaching that size of an audience,” he said. “It’s clearly a tremendous opportunity for the right advertisers.”

PepsiCo historically has put a greater emphasis on the Super Bowl than Coca-Cola. In addition to its beverage line, the company owns Frito-Lay, which will use the Super Bowl again this year to promote Doritos.

In the past 10 years, PepsiCo ranked behind only Anheuser-Busch in spending on Super Bowl advertisement, according to TNS. Coca-Cola ranked No. 8. It returned to the Super Bowl in 2007 after skipping the event from 1999 to 2006.

Coke has provided details on three of its ads for this year’s Super Bowl. In an ad called “Avatar,” a young man and woman come unplugged from the digital world by ordering a Coca-Cola. In an ad called “Heist,” insects band together to steal a bottle of Coke from a picnic basket.

The most talked-about ad, though, could be a Coke Zero ad that provides a new take on the “Mean” Joe Greene commercial. This year’s commercial features Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu in an ad for Coke Zero.

Pepsi is expected to use the Super Bowl to promote its Pepsi, Gatorade and SoBe beverage brands. It has partnered with DreamWorks Animation on a 60-second, 3-D commercial that features the return of the SoBe lizards. Last year, the lizards danced with model Naomi Campbell.

TNS will be tracking the immediate consumer reaction to Super Bowl commercials, but the initial feedback is just one measure, DeBiase said. Smart companies will use the ads as part of a broader campaign, he said.

“Marketers need to approach their investment in the Super Bowl not as a 30- or 60-second moment in time, but as a springboard for new and effective ways to engage the consumer,” DeBiase said. “Their Super Bowl spot should be a beginning, not just a platform to address a national audience.”

Georgia State marketing professor Bernhardt agreed. A successful Super Bowl advertising spot for a company such as Coca-Cola should be tied to an ongoing campaign that leverages a range of media outlets, he said.

While the overall mood of the nation may be soured by the recession, Bernhardt said he expects the ads to remain upbeat. The Super Bowl spots can provide a moment of escape for viewers, he said.

“Things that enable people to laugh and to be cheerful instead of down tend to get much more attention during bad times,” Bernhardt said. “It’s not surprising that the tone of the ads this year may be making use of humor and giving people 30 seconds of fun and happiness.”