Superbowl XLI Media Overview

During Superbowl XLI, the biggest category with the most product mentions was CBS promoting their own programming with 45 commercials and/or promotional mentions.

CBS most heavily promoted:

• The Grammy Awards (6)
• Survivor Fiji (5)
• CBS Evening News (3)
• Rules of Engagement (3)
• Amazing Race (3)
• CSI (3)

The biggest paying category was, not surprisingly, Automotive with 25 commercials and/or product mentions by nine brands.

Top Five in Automotive:

• Cadillac (4)
• Chevrolet (4)
• Honda (4)
• Toyota (3)
• Ford Trucks (3)

The third category was beer and this was the largest exclusive category with all 13 commercials and/or product mentions being for Budweiser products. Non-alcoholic beverages (10), Internet (6), Snacks (6), Insurance (5), DVD Rental (4), and Employment (4), rounded out the top ten categories. For a full category listing, see Superbowl Commercial Categories.

There were 83 advertisers in Superbowl XLI many of which were advertising multiple brands. Looking just at commercials and not including sponsorships, Budweiser, was the biggest commercial advertiser with nine entries for at least four different beers. For a complete list of advertisers, see Superbowl XLI Commercial Advertiser Rankings. For a complete list of sponsors, see Superbowl XLI Sponsorships.

Top Six Commercial Advertisers:

• Budweiser All Products (9)
• Grammy Awards (6)
• Survivor Fiji (5)
• Cadillac (4)
• Coke (4) NFL (4)

With a total of 144 commercial spots at an average in-game / post-game selling price somewhere between $2M and $2.6M, this game generated between $280M and $375M in commercial revenue alone.

For a complete log of all commercials and their pod positions, please see Superbowl XLI Commercial and Promotion Log.

Superbowl XLI Commercial and Promotion Log

The following is a list of all the commercials, promotions, and/or sponsorships that were broadcast during the commercial breaks of Superbowl XLI. I did not collect mentions and logos that appeared during actual game play. Everything I collected occurred in the commercial breaks. Beginning with pod 01-00, Ford Trucks broadcast the last commercial before the hard open. I did not record the length of each spot nor did I differentiate between :60, :30, :15, :10, or :05 spots.

Position ---- Advertiser ---- Commercial
01-00 ---- Ford Trucks ---- Assembly (lead-in spot)
01-01 ---- Budweiser ---- Low Five (Rock, Paper, Scissors)
01-02 ---- Doritos ---- Smooth
01-03 ---- Blockbuster Online ---- Carl & Ray Mouse Click
01-04 ---- CBS Promos ---- CBS Evening News with Katie Couric
01-05 ---- Superbowl ---- Prince Halftime Show
02-01 ---- Sierra Mist ---- Beard Combover
02-02 ---- Salesgenie.com ---- Sales Leads
02-03 ---- Sierra Mist ---- Karate
02-04 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- Budweiser
02-05 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- Pepsi
02-06 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- Federal Express
03-01 ---- Toyota ---- Tundra off a cliff
03-02 ---- Federal Express ---- Moon Office
03-03 ---- Bud Light ---- Wedding Auctioneer
03-04 ---- CBS Promos ---- Amazing Race
03-05 ---- Superbowl ---- Prince Halftime Show
04-01 ---- Snickers ---- Lady & The Tramp Kiss
04-02 ---- Schick ---- Titanium Shaver
04-03 ---- Movie Release ---- Pride
04-04 ---- CBS Promos ---- Survivor Fiji
04-05 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- Toyota
04-06 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- Career Builder
05-01 ---- Chevrolet ---- Songs
05-02 ---- Bud Light ---- Foreign Students
05-03 ---- CBS Promos ---- Grammy Awards
05-04 ---- CBS Promos ---- Letterman & Oprah Promo
06-01 ---- godaddy.com ---- Marketing Department
06-02 ---- Coke ---- Grand Theft Auto Redux
06-03 ---- CBS Promos ---- CBS is #1
07-01 ---- Bud ---- Muddy Dog / Fire truck
07-02 ---- Garmin ---- Maposaurus
07-03 ---- CBS Promos ---- CBS Cares / NFL Mentor
07-04 ---- CBS Promos ---- Pro Bowl Promo
07-05 ---- CBS Promos ---- Grammy Awards
08-01 ---- Career Builder ---- Outdoor Office
08-02 ---- Doritos ---- Cleanup on Register 6
08-03 ---- Chevrolet ---- University of Washington Contest Spot
08-04 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- Chevrolet
08-05 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- Doritos
09-01 ---- Bud Light ---- Slap is in
09-02 ---- Beat Your Risk? ---- Heart Character beat up by illness characters
09-03 ---- United Way ---- Go United Way
09-04 ---- Superbowl ---- Prince Halftime Show
10-01 ---- General Motors ---- GM Robot Suicide
10-02 ---- Coke ---- Black History
10-03 ---- CBS Promos ---- Letterman & Dr. Phil Promo
10-04 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- General Motors
10-05 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- Budweiser
11-01 ---- Movie Release ---- Wild Hogs
11-02 ---- Sprint ---- Connectile Dysfunction
11-03 ---- Motorola ---- Football Video on Phone
11-04 ---- CBS Promos ---- How I Met Your Mother
11-05 ---- CBS Promos ---- Amazing Race
12-01 ---- Doritos ---- Black History
13-01 ---- Coke ---- What Else Haven't I Done?
14-01 ---- CBS Promos ---- Rules of Engagement
14-02 ---- CBS Promos ---- CSI (Vegas)
15-01 ---- CBS Promos ---- Two & 1/2 Men
15-02 ---- CBS Promos ---- CSI (Vegas)
15-03 ---- CBS Promos ---- Shark
15-04 ---- CBS Promos ---- March Madness (bubbles?)
15-05 ---- CBS Promos ---- Grammy Awards
15-06 ---- Ford Trucks ---- We're #1
15-07 ---- Chase Bank ---- Stoplight ATM Visit
15-08 ---- Acura ---- Aren't We Advanced?
15-09 ---- CBS Promos ---- CBS Evening News with Katie Couric
15-10 ---- Blockbuster Online ---- Blockbuster Halftime Show Sponsorship
16-01 ---- CBS Promos ---- NCIS / The Unit Combo
16-02 ---- CBS Promos ---- Survivor Fiji
16-03 ---- NFL Promo ---- Difference Makers
16-04 ---- Pepsi ---- Superbowl 41 Halftime Show Sponsorship
17-01 ---- CBS Promos ---- Criminal Minds
17-02 ---- CBS Promos ---- CSI Miami
17-03 ---- CBS Promos ---- Jericho
18-01 ---- CBS Promos ---- CBS Evening News with Katie Couric
18-02 ---- CBS Promos ---- CSI NY
18-03 ---- CBS Promos ---- Grammy Awards
18-04 ---- CBS Promos ---- Survivor Fiji
18-05 ---- Chevrolet ---- Chevy Trucks Best Coverage
18-06 ---- Cargill ---- Cute Animal Stuff
18-07 ---- MetroPCS ---- Call Network or Out of Network
18-08 ---- Honda Civic ---- Tron Homage
18-09 ---- CBS Promos ---- Local Affiliate
19-01 ---- Movie Release ---- Disney's Meet the Robinsons
19-02 ---- E-Trade ---- Robbed by Your Bank
19-03 ---- Coke ---- Extraordinary Production inside Coke Machine (long-form)
19-04 ---- CBS Promos ---- Craig Ferguson
19-05 ---- NFL Promo ---- Football
20-01 ---- Bud Light ---- Monkeys Planning a Break
20-02 ---- Revlon ---- Cheryl Crow Colors Her Hair
20-03 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- Bud.tv
20-04 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- ??? (Can't Read my Notes)
20-05 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- Wild Hogs
21-01 ---- Career Builder ---- Office Survivor
21-02 ---- Taco Bell ---- Lions Ricardo Montalban
21-03 ---- Van Heusen ---- Just Lucky or Knows How to Dress?
21-04 ---- Cadillac ---- Vote for SVP online
21-05 ---- CBS Promos ---- Two & 1/2 Men
22-01 ---- Toyota ---- Tundra up a ramp
22-02 ---- Emerald Nuts ---- Robert Goulet during nap time
22-03 ---- T-Mobile ---- Is this your Dad? Dwayne Wayne / Charles Barkley
22-04 ---- CBS Promos ---- Grammy Awards
22-05 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- Coke
22-06 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- Revlon
23-01 ---- Federal Express ---- Ground Service: Judging by a name
23-02 ---- Nationwide ---- Kevin Federline: Life Comes at You Fast
23-03 ---- Bud Light ---- Hitcher with an axe
23-04 ---- CBS Promos ---- CSI (Vegas)
24-01 ---- CBS Promos ---- CBS Sports
24-02 ---- Mitsubishi ---- Outlander - Out Everything
24-03 ---- Jack in the Box ---- I want to be a Vegetarian
24-04 ---- Dodge Trucks ---- Truck Stop Country
24-05 ---- CBS Promos ---- Local Affiliate CBS 11 Official Home of Cowboys
25-01 ---- Budweiser ---- Crabs Cooler Grab
25-02 ---- Prudential ---- What a rock can do
25-03 ---- Honda CRV ---- Hunk of Burning Love
25-04 ---- CBS Promos ---- Survivor Fiji
26-01 ---- Hewlett-Packard ---- Making the Computer Personal Again
26-02 ---- Izod ---- Melting Pot Sports
26-03 ---- Budweiser ---- Future Tabletop Football
26-04 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- Honda
26-05 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- Hewlett-Packard
26-06 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- E-Trade
27-01 ---- Flomax ---- Men who want to pee less
27-02 ---- E-Trade ---- Things to do with one finger
27-03 ---- CBS Promos ---- Rules of Engagement
28-01 ---- Movie Release ---- Hannibal Rising
28-02 ---- Career Builder ---- Outdoor Survivor - Torture
28-03 ---- CBS Promos ---- Criminal Minds
28-04 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- godaddy.com
28-05 ---- Superbowl Sponsors ---- bud.tv
29-01 ---- Honda ---- Gas Pumps Unneeded
29-02 ---- godaddy.com ---- Marketing Department
29-03 ---- Snapple ---- Green Tea Yogi
29-04 ---- NFL Promo ---- Its Hard to Say Goodbye
29-05 ---- CBS Promos ---- CSI Miami
30-01 ---- Michelin ---- A Better Way Forward
30-02 ---- Blockbuster Online ---- Total Access - Alec Baldwin
30-03 ---- Start Farm ---- Agents make the difference
30-04 ---- California Cheese ---- Happy Cows
30-05 ---- CBS Promos ---- Grammy Awards
30-06 ---- Lexus IL ---- So Much for Gravity
30-07 ---- Geico Insurance ---- Gecko in therapy
31-01 ---- Cadillac ---- Car Evolution
31-02 ---- Beat Your Risk? ---- Heart Character beat up by illness characters
31-03 ---- godaddy.com ---- Marketing Department
31-04 ---- Comcast ---- DSL Sucks but fast isn't for everyone
31-05 ---- Salesgenie.com ---- Sales Leads
32-01 ---- Cadillac ---- Tiki Barber and Opportunity
32-02 ---- Lunestra ---- Can't Sleep?
32-03 ---- Progressive Insurance ---- Insurance is cool
32-04 ---- CBS Promos ---- Rules of Engagement
32-05 ---- CBS Promos ---- Amazing Race
32-06 ---- NFL ---- Get your Superbowl hats & shirts at …
33-01 ---- Cadillac ---- Andy Garcia
33-02 ---- Netflix ---- 1 Billion Movies
33-03 ---- CBS Promos ---- Survivor Fiji
33-04 ---- Ford Trucks ---- Expedition Extended Length
33-05 ---- TXU ---- Pick Your Plan
33-06 ---- Mercedes ---- Every Owner Has a Story
33-07 ---- CBS Promos ---- Local Affiliate CBS 11
33-08 ---- Into Criminal Minds through Nance and Simms calling Superbowl…

Superbowl XLI Commercial Advertiser Rankings

The following is a list of advertisers that were involved in Superbowl XLI and to what degree they were involved. I did not record the length of each spot, but this list is for commercials rather than mere sponsorship mentions. I did not differentiate between :60, :30, :15, or :10 spots.

Budweiser (All Products) - 9
Grammy Awards - 6
Survivor Fiji - 5
Cadillac - 4
Coke - 4
NFL - 4
Amazing Race - 3
Career Builder - 3
CBS Evening News with Katie Couric - 3
Chevrolet - 3
CSI (Vegas) - 3
Doritos - 3
Ford Trucks - 3
godaddy.com - 3
Honda (All Cars) - 3
Local Affiliate CBS 11 - 3
Prince Halftime Show Promos - 3
Rules of Engagement - 3
Beat Your Risk? - 2
Blockbuster Online - 2
Criminal Minds - 2
CSI Miami - 2
E-Trade - 2
Federal Express - 2
Letterman - 2
Salesgenie.com - 2
Sierra Mist - 2
Toyota - 2
Two & 1/2 Men - 2
Acura - 1
California Cheese - 1
Cargill - 1
CBS Cares - NFL Mentor - 1
CBS is #1 - 1
CBS Sports - 1
Chase Bank - 1
Comcast - 1
Craig Ferguson - 1
CSI NY - 1
Dodge Trucks - 1
Dr. Phil - 1
Emerald Nuts - 1
Flomax - 1
Garmin - 1
Geico Insurance - 1
General Motors - 1
Hannibal Rising - 1
Hewlett-Packard - 1
How I Met Your Mother - 1
Izod - 1
Jack in the Box - 1
Jericho - 1
Lexus IL - 1
Lunestra - 1
March Madness (bubbles?) - 1
Meet the Robinsons - 1
Mercedes - 1
MetroPCS - 1
Michelin - 1
Mitsubishi - 1
Motorola - 1
Nationwide - 1
NCIS - 1
Netflix - 1
Oprah Promo - 1
Pride - 1
Pro Bowl Promo - 1
Progressive Insurance - 1
Prudential - 1
Revlon - 1
Schick - 1
Shark - 1
Snapple - 1
Snickers - 1
Sprint - 1
State Farm - 1
Taco Bell - 1
The Unit - 1
T-Mobile - 1
TXU - 1
United Way - 1
Van Heusen - 1
Wild Hogs - 1

Superbowl Commercials Categories

The following are a list of categories (my own) that show which categories were involved in the Superbowl to a greater or lesser degree. I did not record then length of each spot or sponsorship mention. If a commercial ran or the product received a verbal sponsorship credit, then I included it for my purposes. I did not include every time a logo appeared on-screen during the game. Further, during commercial breaks, I did not differentiate between :60, :30, :15, :10, or :05 spots.

Category
CBS Promos - 45
Automotive - 25
Beer - 13
Beverage - 10
Internet - 6
Snack - 6
Insurance - 5
Movie Release - 5
DVD Rental - 4
Employment - 4
Financial - 4
NFL - 4
Technology - 4
Cellular - 3
Personal Care - 3
Shipping - 3
Agricultural - 2
Apparel - 2
Fast Food - 2
Health Care - 2
Medicine - 2
Auto Parts/Service - 1
Cable Provider - 1
Charity - 1
Energy - 1

Business of Media 1: Four Types of Television Commercials

In television, there are four basic types of commercials that run everywhere: Network Commercials, Local Spot Commercials, National Spot Commercials, and Direct Response.

* Network Commercials - These commercials are sold by the broadcast or cable network and are part of the feed that goes to local stations. These are spots that run simultaneously across the country. If you buy a network commercial during Desperate Housewives, that commercial is going to be seen by every viewer of that program in every household in the country. It doesn't matter if they are in Denver or Dallas or Durham.

* Local Spot Commercials - These commercials are sold by the local television stations or cable providers in each individual market. These spots run only in the market in which they are purchased. If you buy a local spot commercial during Desperate Housewives in Dallas, you would purchase it directly from the Dallas ABC affiliate (WFAA-TV) and it would run only in Dallas. If you wanted it to run in Denver or Durham, you would have to contact those local stations and purchase from them directly. Local Spot Commercials tend to have lower production values. Imagine the local car dealer standing in front of the car lot swinging his arms and talking about the great deals at Westway Ford.

* National Spot Commercials - These commercials are sold in a couple of different ways. Primarily, each local station has a National Sales Manager that works with a National Television Rep Firm who in turn works with media agencies to complete this buy. National is used when an advertiser wants to cover several markets with their advertising message, but doesn't want to buy network. There could be many reasons not to buy network. The company might be regional so a national buy would deliver their message to people that can't shop in their stores. They might be testing a new product or a new advertising message in a few local markets. They might have different advertising messages for different parts of the country.

* Direct Response Advertising - Direct Response is an entirely different process. These are predominantly the commercials that have a phone number at the end so that you can call and purchase the new Vidalia Chop Wizard or whatever new widget they are selling. By definition, there is a way for you to "respond directly" during the commercial. These commercials are often used to fill unsold inventory. Sometimes, they are purchased and sometimes there is a revenue-sharing agreement in place between the DR advertiser and the local station. Each situation is unique.

--Carter Cathey
(c) 2007