About the only thing you will see more of during the Super Bowl than chicken wings and instant replays are car commercials, according to NBC, which will air Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5.
There will likely be more than 20 car commercials aired during the Super Bowl, according to NBC, eclipsing the total from last year’s NFL championship game. A 30-second commercial costs advertisers $3.5 million this year.
General Motors is expected to lead the way with five commercials during the game, according to AdWeek.
“I do believe the auto category will prove to be even more prolific this year than in any other prior year,” Seth Winter, a senior vice president with NBC Sports, told AdWeek. “We’re also seeing more long-form in-game advertising than ever before… and the auto category has taken that art form to new heights.”
This year’s automotive advertisers will have big shoes to fill. The ad from last year’s Super Bowl that was deemed best was a Volkswagen commercial that featured a young Darth Vader learning the ways of the Dark Side.
Seeing so many car-related ads during the Super Bowl should serve as yet another positive sign that the industry continues its rebound and reemergence from a severe downturn that coincided with the start of the most recent economic recession.
For those of us on the finance side of the automotive business, I would not hold out much hope that we’ll be seeing a lot of lending-related content in carmakers’ Super Bowl commercials. Although, given the state of the current economy, focusing an ad or two on the financial side of the transaction may carry more weight than focusing on branding or features.
