Super Bowl Ads Take Equal Billing to Game in 2009, According to Hanon McKendry Poll
draw for viewers, with over 54 percent of U.S. adults who expect to watch
Super Bowl XLIII planning to tune in as much or more for the commercials as
for the game. According to the latest Hanon McKendry poll conducted by Harris
Interactive(R), 72 percent of U.S. adults plan to watch Super Bowl XLIII, up
from 68 percent in 2008, with 34 percent of those anticipated viewers watching
equally for the ads as for the game and 21 percent tuning in exclusively or
predominantly for the commercials.
The 2009 poll also found that 30 percent of Super Bowl viewers say they
are more likely to visit an advertiser’s Web site after seeing a Super Bowl
commercial.
“This poll affirms the power of traditional broadcast advertising,” stated
Consultants. “It also suggests a strong synergy between television and the
Web. Not only are Super Bowl ads drawing people to the game, they’re driving
Web traffic. And the growing role of the Web in Super Bowl campaigns is
generating even more interest in the commercials themselves.”
McKendry noted a historic correlation. “When commercial television
broadcasting took off in the ’50s, everyone predicted it would be the death of
radio. In reality, TV has generated more interest in music and radio
personalities. That same synergy is happening today between the Web and TV,
including television advertising.”
The Hanon McKendry survey aims to quantify the draw of Super Bowl
commercials among the more than 90 million anticipated viewers(1). Now in its
fourth year, the poll found response similar to that of 2008, when 57 percent
of U.S. adult viewers planned to watch as much or more for the ads. The query
that gets at viewers’ likelihood to visit Super Bowl advertisers’ Web sites is
new in 2009. This year’s poll results are reflective of actual 2008
post-Super Bowl online activity, when advertisers saw a 24 percent increase in
Web traffic the day after the big game, a year when game viewership was at an
all-time high(1).
Building on the synergy between TV and Web, Hanon McKendry has launched
www.superadbowl.com , where visitors can vote on their favorite Super Bowl ads
after each quarter and get real-time results as soon as they submit their
votes. Ads that come out on top among online voters will be listed
immediately after the game.
The 2009 survey also confirms consistently high interest in the Super Bowl
and the ads among women.
— The overall percentage of women who plan to watch the Super Bowl is up
from 60% in 2008 to 67% in 2009, with the percentage of female viewers who
will tune in as much or more for the ads remaining fairly constant — 62% in
2009 vs. 65% in 2008.
— At 36% (male) and 31% (female), a consistently high percentage of men
and women who plan to watch say they’ll do so equally for the game and the
commercials.
— Female viewers are nearly three times more likely than male viewers to
watch primarily for the commercials (31% of female viewers vs. 11% of male
viewers).
(1) In its annual Guide to the Super Bowl, The Nielsen Company reports
that Super Bowl XLII drew a record average viewership of 97.5 million, up from
93.2 million in 2007 and exceeding the previous viewership record of 94.08
million set in 1996. The Nielsen Guide also reports that Super Bowl
advertisers saw a 24 percent jump in Web traffic the day after the 2008 game.
The Survey
Harris Interactive conducted this online survey within the U.S. on behalf
of Hanon McKendry
18+, of whom 1,093 were men and 1,240 were women. This online survey is not
based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical
sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including
weighting variables, please contact
The Firms
Hanon McKendry is a national brand consulting, advertising and marketing
firm that excels at helping clients shift perceptions beyond what their brands
offer to what their brands mean. Nearly 80 percent of the firm’s annual
revenues are derived from major initiatives to launch, re-launch or restage
brands. Hanon McKendry has worked extensively with high-profile corporate
clients including Rayovac Batteries, Rubbermaid Home Products, Wilsonart and
Zondervan (a division of Harper/Collins Publishing). The firm has also earned
national recognition for its cause and issue-based campaigns and brand
development for clients such as the Alliance Defense Fund, Salvation Army,
National
and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum. Hanon McKendry is a
Gravity Six Alliance partner. www.hanon-mckendry.com / www.gravitysix.com
Harris Interactive is a global leader in custom market research. With a
long and rich history in multimodal research that is powered by our science
and technology, we assist clients in achieving business results. Harris
Interactive serves clients globally through our North American, European and
Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms. For more
information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com .
SOURCE Hanon McKendry