The most contentious battle of Super Bowl XLVIII will have almost nothing to do with football. This war will not be waged on the field of New Jersey's MetLife Stadium, but rather right in your own living room. (And I'm not talking about the tussle over the last chicken wing.) As the most-watched TV event of the year, the Super Bowl is also the most in-demand forum for advertising—as much a competition over consumer eyeballs as the Lombardi Trophy.
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To this most super of super Sundays, brands (and their ad agencies) bring their creative A-games and loads of money—this year, 30 seconds of airtime costs an average of $4 million—to deter viewers from running to the bathroom or kitchen during commercial breaks, and to get them talking around the watercooler (or, the 21st century version, Twitter). This is why Super Bowl ads are the domain of anthropomorphic animals, celebrity cameos, infants acting like adults and not-so-sly attempts at slipping corporate catchphrases into the cultural lexicon.
Details on this year's Super Bowl ads are scant, but work from at least one Chicago agency will air on Fox during the fourth quarter of the February 2 game. Cramer-Krasselt is behind a spot for Heinz ketchup that, according to a spokesperson, emphasizes the pleasant, familial nostalgia that comes with using the condiment. The Loop-based firm is just one Chicago agency that has been playing the Super Bowl ad game for decades. Local companies have produced some of the big game's most iconic ads, from Spuds MacKenzie to "Whassup?"
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