Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

If you've lived on the planet over the past two months you know that answer is Pepsi. Frito-Lay, a unit of the Pepsi parent company, did show up on Super Bowl Sunday but the Pepsi brand itself sat the game out. Why would Pepsi do this, knowing Coca Cola would be there in full force?

This year Super Bowl ads actually went down in cost from last year's $3 million for a 30 second spot. In 2010 these same spots went for $2.5-$2.8 million. And that, of course, does not include creative and production costs. And the smart companies don't stop there. They follow up their Super Bowl ads with an online presence and ongoing social media tactics at the very least. The bigger budgets will include print and out of home advertising like billboards to continually drive awareness and demand.

If they choose to play in the Super Bowl ad game, Pepsi would surely have matched Coke's two minutes, costing at least $10 million. Instead, they announced that they would pass for the first time in 23 years - and they still got the coverage they wanted. Now, while other companies are figuring out how much of an increase in sales is needed to justify those Super Bowl spots Pepsi can move on with their larger marketing initiatives in positioning their brand. Which is . . . ?

A Google search on Pepsi Super Bowl resulted in 7.5M hits (Coke Super Bowl resulted in 1.75M). Among the top 10 headlines:

Pepsi Ditches the Super Bowl, Embraces Crowdsourced Philanthropy ...

Pepsi Drops Super Bowl Ads in Favor of Cause Marketing ...

And Pepsi's paid Google spot: Pepsi Refresh Project: Thousands of Ideas, Millions of Grants. Submit Your Idea Today! www.RefreshEverything.com

I'm not a Pepsi fan. I don't even drink cola (or pop, as we Midwesterners say). But Pepsi or Diet Pepsi went to the top of my list for my next soft drink purchase.

And here's a suggestion for next year: Anheuser-Busch should announce that it is foregoing the Super Bowl and its five full minutes of advertising across all its brands totaling at least $25M. Then tell the public it's lowering prices on beer for the month of February and see how many units it sells and if that good will extends beyond the game. Heck, I might even drink a Bud if they do that.

Nahhhh. I'll stick with my Pepsi.

Much ballyhoo was made about the record $3 million price tag for a 30-second spot. Heck, Miller Beer even based their one-second commercials on this. They received considerable buzz for that, too. Unfortunately, many spots won’t be buzz worthy next year. A few exceptions will be Pepsi Max–with its indelible pneumonic, “I’m Good”– telling guys it’s okay todrink diet soda. Slapstick rules. After watching this several times, I’m still in awe of how they pulled some of this off.

Speaking of diet soda, Coke hauled out the way-back machine to get Steeler Troy Polamalu paying homage to Mean Joe Green’s famous Coke spot. The twist of bringing the brand lawyers in was smart and on strategy.

Did you find the Anheuser Busch spots irritating? Clydesdales are your mascot. We get it.

The careerbuilder.com spot was fun and memorable…you hate to go to work…people talk down to you…etc. Unfortunately, that joke is tired after one viewing, though. Other notable spots were Monster.com with its relatable moose butt, Denny’s “Serious Breakfast” and the smart Teleflora talking flowers.

All advertising slots sold out only one day before the game. If you watched you noticed a higher-than-normal number of NBC/Universal promos. My guess is they were filling a few 3 mil slots themselves. One spot that felt like an NBC promo turned out to be for Hulu. “TV Star” Alec Baldwin tells of TV’s evil plot to soften our brains. While I doubt it’ll have the staying power of Apple’s “1984” it certainly felt like a big introduction.

There’s considerable concern about the viewing of commercials because of TiVo. However TiVo reports viewers tend to pause and rewind back to previous commercials they enjoyed. Probably won’t be doing a lot of that this year.

What do you think?

PS: Check out my pal, Will Langley's hit list!

It’s that time of year again. The chatter brews about the Super Bowl. Not the game—usually a snorefest—but the extraneous stuff that swirls around it. Ads, musical performances, drunken football legends, inappropriate comments…you get the idea. This year, as in recent years, I suspect our anticipation will be met with pretty much the same: nothing.

Think back to Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004 and how Janet Jackson’s booby hypnotized the FCC into making Puritans out of networks. Remember the broadcast? Justin, Prince of Pop, gyrated. Diddy and Nelly checked their junk and Kid Rock sported a shirt made from an American flag. Even a professional streaker, usually a great 11 o’clock News digestif, was completely overshadowed by Ms. Jackson’s breast. Oh yeah, the ads. Who could forget the pooting horse for Bud Light? Ads for erectile dysfunction rivals Levitra and Cialis (introducing 36 hour power!) previewed along with old faithful Viagra.

In the aftermath 200,000 Americans complained, The FCC slapped CBS with record $550,000 fines and increased indecency fines more than 1,000 percent. While Nipplegate was the lightning rod, the pooting and repeated use of the word “erectile” got caught up in the storm, making that halftime show the poster child for low morality in pop culture.

A Time magazine poll in 2005 revealed 66 percent of Americans believed the FCC overreacted.

TV doesn’t raise our kids; we do. Sure, we don’t want them exposed to grown-up things too early, but things happen. We have to instill a sense of morality in them. Pop culture has always titillated. That’s its job. Parents can use these opportunities to give children reasoning power to hopefully prepare them to make tougher decisions later.

Super Bowl XLII rolls around on February 3. It’ll be hyped before and quickly forgotten afterwards. The acts will be tame and the ads lame. They’ll skirt controversy. By hiding unpleasant or unfamiliar subjects, we pretend they don’t exist. Isn’t that doing kids more harm than having a conversation with them? Are we too uncomfortable? My dear Puritans, the Internet doesn’t mind enlightening our kids. Unless I subscribe, I’m not a fan of gratuitous adult stuff in primetime. However, a little interest would bring the Super Bowl back into this century. Alas, thy heart believes it shalt not be giant, probably rather pat.