5 million dollars for a thirty-second slot (Chris 1).That amounts to over 150,000 dollars per second. The Super Bowl has become a phenomenon in and of itself for commercials. It is the true test of successful advertising. .
Worldwide attention and the desire to increase sales are some of the most obvious reasons companies want to have their ad shown during the Super Bowl. However, another advantage can come out of having your name or product aired during the big game. Free publicity. The social factor of public fascination with Super Bowl advertisements can create huge amounts of free publicity. "Advertising during the Super Bowl benefits from a captive audience as well as post-Super Bowl publicity and word-of-mouth. (Goldberg 12)." There is also a public relations value of having ads rated highly by media critics and the public, which often results in even more free publicity. Obviously, this free publicity can be a definite bonus for a company, while helping to reduce the otherwise expenses.
However, as many companies have come to find out, paying the expensive airtime price and running a commercial during the Super Bowl does not guarantee the company will benefit from its ad. Stayman, who has written widely on audience perceptions of advertising said, "If the game fails to be competitive early on, there can be significant fall off in viewership (Geddes, qtd.)." Meaning that reaction to the match can affect the ratings of the commercials. .
It is hard to come up with a clear answer to the question: Is advertising during the Super Bowl worth the cost? There are uncontrollable factors that could surely hurt a company in sending out their message, such as a lopsided game or poor time slots. There will always be a risk. There is no guarantee for positive viewer response. Jennifer Chang, a professor of marketing at Penn State University believes "in most cases, spending the big dollars for a Super Bowl ad, does not pay off" (Goldberg ).