I admit that I’m not a sports buff. Though I’ve been to a few baseball games in my life, I can’t tell you the last time I sat and watched a game on TV.
As for football, it’s safe to say that most years, I watch one game a year: the Super Bowl — and even then, if I don’t have a horse in the race, I’m far more interested in the commercials.
Ahhh, remember when the commercials during the Super Bowl were an event in themselves? With the hefty price tag that comes with advertising during the most watched sporting event of the year — reportedly as high as $7 million for 30 seconds — comes the necessity of having the most clever and most talked about advertisement. In the past, it was always a fun side sport to watch the ads for that year’s best ad spots.
Sadly, even the ads have gotten lame and are not worth the effort of sitting through.
And then there’s the other problem.
Did you hear that Fox News will be having a 15-second commercial promoting Greg Gutfeld’s blockbuster late-night show? It features Greg Gutfeld himself dressed like a king and shows regulars Tyrus and Kat Timpf also dressed in medieval cosplay. Gutfeld’s dog also gets a cameo. How do I know this? The ad is already on YouTube.
Thanks to YouTube and social media, the ads aren’t even a surprise anymore, as the ads always end up being “leaked” online before the game so you can see the latest Budweiser twist on puppies and Clydesdales or the E-Trade baby.
Why not pre-record the game and post it on YouTube days early?
Another commercial features the Planters mascot Mr. Peanut being roasted (pun obviously intended) by a panel of comedians. Maybe in the middle of the Super Bowl alongside a bunch of other cleverly-written commercials, it would have made you laugh, but if you’re a sucker for getting the inside scoop early, you’ll surely find yourself shaking your head wondering why the ad was even considered to be funny in the first place.
Over at our sister site Hot Air, Karen Townsend talks about other commercials to be featured during the Super Bowl— ads that have been deliberately released early on the internet so that they lose any element of surprise during the expensive 15, 30, or 60-second slot they’ve just had to have.
Speaking of Budweiser, what will their ad be like? “There are four newborn Budweiser Clydesdales this year,” Karen writes. “They won’t appear in this year’s ad but will host a watch party that day. There will be a new ad narrated by Kevin Bacon. It will only play in some markets, though, a change from previous years. Budweiser is not the sole beer sponsor this year. For the first time in 30 years, Anheuser-Busch isn’t the exclusive Super Bowl beer advertiser. Molson Coors and Heineken, as well as others, are expected to run national ads.”
With the incredible amount of detail as to what the ads are, who they’re for, and what markets they’ll run in, the once popular side sport of watching Super Bowl ads has made itself completely irrelevant.
At least we still have finger foods and booze.