If you missed it Sunday evening, you were one of the few as 97.5 million people tuned in to watch the Super Bowl. The hype prior to the event was most interesting, especially the anticipation regarding the advertisements. And for the most part, it was well worth the wait, especially in the final quarter when more than 105 million people were glued to their television screens.
While the 17-14 New York Giants’ triumph over the New England Patriots proved that once again David can prevail over Goliath, the historic contest had a far greater impact on the American economy.
Super Bowls are typically all-day affairs, but the planning for being included in the associated activities takes a lot longer and includes everything from travel and accommodations to food and souvenirs—not counting the advertisements, of course, which cost millions to produce and air. Over the past 20 years, ad sales totaled $1.72 billion, and that’s for some 682 minutes for 221 advertisers. The top five, Anheuser Busch, PepsiCo, General Motors, Time Warner, and Walt Disney, shelled out over $613 million during the 1987-2006 timeframe.
The 63 ads made available for Super Bowl LXII cost up to $2.6 million for 30 seconds, about $100,000 more than in 2006. (Prior to the mid-1990s, ads cost less than a million dollars.) Most of the advertisers this year were repeat customers, but 10 were newbies. The huge expenditures were considered a gamble since many people often remember the ad itself, but not the product associated with it. However, the ads are usually worth the cost if they create a buzz that results in increased sales.
Prior to 1984, the general public traditionally viewed advertisements as personal timeouts for kitchen or bathroom breaks. Since then, when the groundbreaking and unique Apple ad introduced the Macintosh, the half-minute offerings have become almost as popular as the action on the football field. In many cases, advertisements have become an art form offered in a theatrical production using revolutionary approaches.
Amazingly, almost one-fourth of the commercial time available for advertisers is traditionally used by the network showing the game to promote its own programming.
For the 70,000 or so who were lucky enough to get tickets (and some of them were very costly), most of them also spent a significant amount on transportation, overnight lodging, and entertainment. Nearly 1,000 aircraft were added to local and nearby airport traffic during the days prior to the contest. Seven hundred luxury sedans and limousines supplemented the more than 2,500 vehicles normally permitted for airport services.
Souvenirs for the Super Bowl normally run the gamut from the usual to the unusual, from photos of teams and players to a variety of trinkets emblazoned with the Super Bowl logo. This year, post office employees even offered postmarks, artwork, and envelopes with a Super Bowl postmark. A survey by the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association indicated that those planning to purchase Super Bowl-related merchandise this year were anticipating spending on average approximately $56, up considerably from the nearly $37 spent last year.
Estimates of economic benefits of the Super Bowl to the Arizona economy top $400 million. That’s a substantial return on the funds chipped in by the Arizona Tourism Office, as well as the convention and visitors’ bureaus of the state’s major cities and various other public and private groups sponsoring and hosting the Super Bowl and its scores of associated activities.
Even though Super Bowl Sunday is the biggest day of the year for gridiron enthusiasts, the days prior to the event have proven to be a big boom for retailers who sell big screen televisions, recliners, and couches. In an effort to make the big experience more like being at the stadium, many shoppers are opting for large screens. More than 2.5 million new television sets were expected to be purchased just in time for this year’s Super Bowl. With the addition of the new TVs, hundreds of families also sought to improve their viewing environment with new couches and recliners.
Charities, especially those promoted by celebrities, also benefit significantly from events planned around the time of the annual game. Taking advantage of the platform and pageantry surrounding the Super Bowl, activities ranging from sports competitions to cook outs to special parties garner upwards of $2 million for football-related charities.
Major pizza chains always look forward to the annual big game because sales often increase by more than 50% over a typical Sunday. In fact, this day reportedly ranks second only to Thanksgiving In food consumption, though the menu is quite different.
A special attraction for sports fans this year was the FBR Open golf tournament held about 20 miles away from the location of the football contest. Nearly 540,000 were drawn to the golf links to watch many of the top PGA players compete, although Sunday’s crowd was significantly smaller than the average attendance for the closing day. Two golf fans were not on hand for the finish because of Phil Michelson, who gave away Super Bowl tickets to a spectator and his son.
Regardless of whether you wanted the Giants and Patriots to win, Super Bowl LXII proved to be a big economic winner for various segments of our economy. And that’s in spite of the myriad challenges Americans are facing during this unique period of unrest and uncertainty.