VOA标准英语2010年-Super Bowl Ads Cost Big Bucks, Deliver

The Super Bowl is traditionally one of the biggest television events of the year, and as a result, it is the top showcase for advertisers trying to reach the National Football League championship game's huge audience.  But, the worldwide economic slowdown has had an impact - with advertising¹ prices falling for just the second time in the Super Bowl's 44-year history.

Even people who do not care about American-style football often watch the Super Bowl, with an estimated worldwide audience this year of around one billion people.  In the United States, it is like a gigantic national party day that no one wants to miss.  And with a total U.S. audience estimated to be around 150 million viewers, Thomas Harpointner, CEO of the e-business and interactive² consulting company AIS Media, says many advertisers don't want to miss it either.
 
"The commercials are the most talked-about commercials on the planet," he said. "And that's what makes the commercials and the opportunity to advertise on the Super Bowl so special.  So for a company that is just launching, or launching a new product line, or is making a big company shift, the Super Bowl offers a unique platform."

Another unique feature of advertising on the Super Bowl is that even many who are not football fans, tune³ in just to watch the commercials.  Aimee Picchi, who writes about business and marketing⁴ for AOL's Daily Finance, says studies have shown the ads are quite effective.

"Two-thirds of the respondents remembered their favorite brand advertiser from last year's Super Bowl, but only 39 percent recalled the winning team," she said. "These ads do have a huge impact.  So many people know that they are watching the Super Bowl not just for the game but for the ads, that they are paying close attention to the ads and to the messages." 

Even though the recession has forced a drop in the amount it costs to buy commercials in the big game for just the second time in history, they are still the most expensive on television.  In 2009, the cost for a 30-second commercial reached an average of $3 million. 

But a survey of advertisers and media buyers by ad researcher TNS Media Intelligence says in 2010, that same commercial is selling for between $2.5 million and $2.8 million.  Even at those prices, the commercial inventory⁵ is nearly sold out.  With such a huge audience, Aimee Picchi is not surprised.

"It's probably the only place today where you can get that huge amount of people watching, wanting to watch the ads.  That alone is worth quite a bit of money," she said. "There was a study I just read which mentioned that one Super Bowl ad can be as effective as 250 regular TV commercials." 

However, commercials for some of the products you might expect to see advertised in the Super Bowl will be missing this year.  PepsiCo will not be advertising its flagship soft drink in the game for the first time in 23 years.  They join automaker General Motors and delivery service FedEx, who dropped out last year.  In addition to the expense of buying the commercial time, Thomas Harpointner says there are additional costs that many forget.

"The amount of preparation that goes in, you know, companies spend millions more in production costs, man hours, PR [public relations].  A substantial amount of time and resources are committed to a Super Bowl ad," he said. "There has to be a strategy beyond just a 30-second ad.  The question has to be 'How do we maximize the value of the traffic that we're going to receive?'"

For a lot of advertisers, internet advertising, social networking sites such as Twitter or Facebook, and internet searches on sites such as YouTube can be the answer.  When added to the "word of mouth" discussions around office water coolers, Aimee Picchi says they give the commercials an even greater reach and impact to build customer awareness⁶. 

"There are so many ways to view Super Bowl ads on the web following the Super Bowl," she said. "And the Super Bowl for decades has been the one time that you are actually interested in watching the ads.   A huge number of people who say they are going to watch the Super Bowl also plan to re-watch the ads online after the game is over." 

As some advertisers abandon Super Bowl ads for new media campaigns, newcomers and smaller companies take their places to advertise on the big game.  The TNS survey says that in a typical year, as many as 25-percent of the advertisers are new to the broadcast.  Video game company Electronic Arts, the U.S. Census⁷ Bureau and vacation rental⁸ company HomeAway are among those buying Super Bowl commercials for the first time in 2010.  Brian Sharples, CEO and founder⁹ of HomeAway explains why his company decided¹⁰ to invest in Super Bowl advertising.

"It falls right smack¹¹ in the peak season of our business," he said. "And as it turns out, most people do that planning in the first quarter.  Right in the January, February, March time-frame.  And so the timing¹² was great for us." 

And if you think there are more commercials breaking up the action on the field than there used to be, you're right.  Last year's Super Bowl telecast included a record 45 minutes and five seconds of air time for commercials.  But the biggest Super Bowl advertiser is not a carmaker or beer or fast food sponsor.  That distinction belongs to the broadcast network (this year CBS) itself, which takes as much as one-quarter of the commercial time to promote its own shows.

1 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

2 interactive   

adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的

参考例句：

• The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
• This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。

3 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

4 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

5 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

6 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

7 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

8 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

9 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 smack   

vt.拍，打，掴；咂嘴；vi.含有…意味；n.拍

参考例句：

• She gave him a smack on the face.她打了他一个嘴巴。
• I gave the fly a smack with the magazine.我用杂志拍了一下苍蝇。

12 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。