ALL THE MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR MINUTES ARE GONE

CBS anounced today that the Super Bowl is an ad-time sellout.

In 1980, Super Bowl XIV saw the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the LA Rams.  Tens of millions of viewers saw the game, and saw the iconic commercial, "Thanks Mean Joe!"  Remember that?  The kid who gave the Mean Joe Greene his coke, then got a sweaty souvenir in return.  It's a great commercial.  It didn't actually debut during the game, but it certainly picked up a lot of steam, since the player himself was in the game.  Most of us still remember that one.

There was also the Bird/Jordan ultimate shoot-off spot in 1993, and how about the Apple Macintosh moment in in 1984?  The list of classic commercials goes on.

This year the commercial time costs between $2.5 million and $3 million dollars for 30 seconds in front of all those eyes.  CBS is expected to make about $200 million on the pre-game, in-game and post-game commercials.  Some argue it's not worth the money. I saw one columnist today claim that all but the most special of spots get lost in the clutter.  It seems then, the key is to have an ad so memorable that it becomes "the one" for that year.

The other side of the coin, according to one study, a year after the Super Bowl, 66% of viewers remember their favorite ads, only 39% can tell you which team won.

By the way, The Mean Joe Greene year, 1980?  The Steelers, 31-19 over the Rams.

In 1993, the Jordan/Bird Year?  The Cowboys topped the Bills, 52-17.

The year of the Mac, 1984....The Raiders raided the Redskins, 38-9.

Yes..I had to look it up.

We'll talk again soon.

Don Ward