Super Bowl ad prices fall; still cost millions

The economic slump has prices for Super Bowl commercial time falling for only the second time in its history, but it is still the most expensive on television.

TNS Media Intelligence said Monday that 30-second commercials during next month's Super Bowl on CBS are selling for between $2.5 million and $2.8 million. That's a drop from last year, when ads averaged $3 million on NBC.

Some big players like Pepsi and General Motors are staying on the sidelines. This leaves holes for smaller companies like Diamond Foods and Dr Pepper Snapple to use the Super Bowl to get their wares in front of 100 million viewers who are practically guaranteed to watch their ads.

It's unclear how much revenue Super Bowl advertising will generate for CBS. Nearly all of the 62 commercial slots have been sold. While not conceding that ad rates have slipped, CBS said the pace of sales has been better than it was for NBC a year ago.

"We believe our pricing is similar and believe we are in a better sellout position than they were at this time going into the game," John Bogusz, executive vice president of sports sales and marketing for CBS Television, said.

CBS won't say what it paid for the rights to the Super Bowl. The three networks that now alternate carrying the game, CBS, NBC and Fox, get it in a package along with the games they broadcast through the football season.

In economic downturns, companies are more likely to buy Super Bowl advertising when they want to make an impact by jumpstarting a brand or introducing themselves, said Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at Kellogg School of Management. But it's an expensive proposition for companies like Pepsi and FedEx that would otherwise use the game to simply remind people they're still out there.

He said it's encouraging most of the slots have been filled.

"In a way, Super Bowl advertisers are acting like people are acting in the economy, which is they'll buy only if there's a deal," he said. "If the price is right, people will step up."

One advertiser lured in for the first time was vacation-rental Web site HomeAway.

"We certainly had a hunch that it wasn't going to be massively overpriced versus last year. We had a hunch there'd be some wiggle room," said CEO Brian Sharples, whose company will advertise during the third quarter of the Feb. 7 game.