USA: FOR CORPORATE GIANTS, IT'S THE SUPER BOWL OF ADVERTISING.

Date: Jan 22, 1995

By Michael Fitzpatrick

NEW YORK (Reuter) - Before you get up off the couch between Super Bowl plays, you might remember that America's biggest companies have spent millions of dollars to keep you in your seat.

This year, a 30-second spot on the most-widely watched television show is going for an unprecedented $1 million, but that hasn't dampened the enthusiasm of advertisers one bit.

>From brewing giant Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. to PepsiCo, McDonalds Corp. and Chrysler Corp., companies are geared up for the year's most hyped sporting -- and advertising -- event.

"A lot of people think it's just a football game, but it's also the Super Bowl of advertising," said James Beardsley, president of padlock maker and long-time Super Bowl advertiser Master Lock. "That's a competition we'd like to win."

For companies seeking a really big audience, this is it.

"It's consistently the highest-rated, most-watched television programme on any network throughout the year," said Janice Gretemeyer, spokeswoman for the ABC network, which is carrying this year's championship game between the San Francisco 49ers and the San Diego Chargers at Miami on Jan. 29.

"Last year 123.2 million people tuned in to all or part of the game," Gretemeyer said. That's nearly four times the number of people who watch the most popular weekly series, ABC's "Home Improvement," which draws about 33 million.

But what does it take to keep all those hungry and thirsty Super Bowl viewers from running to the refrigerator during your million-dollar commercial?

"It's got to be unique, for starters," Pepsi-Cola North America President Craig Weatherup said in an interview. "If it's not unique, it's not going to get anywhere."

The soft drink giant won raves for its commercials last year -- particularly one with a Pepsi-drinking chimp escaping a lab and driving off to the beach -- and clearly hopes for a repeat of that success with a whole new package of quirky ads this year.

Pepsi has put together a slew of commercials that put an odd twist on familiar settings but are tied together with the theme, "Nothing Else is a Pepsi."

But advertisers run the risk of trying so hard to keep viewers glued to the screen that the message gets lost, said Jack Trout of Greenwich, Conn.-based marketing strategy firm Trout & Partners.

Trout said many companies are likely to have spent as much producing their Super Bowl commercial as for the air time.

"Some advertisers can lose their way in trying to out-entertain each other," added Bob Lachky, vice president of Budweiser brands for St. Louis-based Anheuser Busch.

While the two teams fight it out on the field, advertisers will be using strategies from tried-and-true campaigns to brand new ideas to win viewers' attention.

Among those bringing back familiar campaigns are Master Lock, with a bullet striking one of its padlocks, and Budweiser's Bud Bowl game between Bud and Bud Light bottles.

But Budweiser, which estimates its spending for Super Bowl advertising, productions and retail tie-ins at about $15 million, is scaling back its Bud Bowl to just one 60-second spot.

The St. Louis-based brewer plans to use its seven remaining spots to promote its Budweiser and Bud Light brands -- already the No. 1 and 2 beers in the United States -- with new ads.

"It's a huge investment, but it's a great way for us to kick off our year," Lachky said.

Chrysler, which last year used the Super Bowl to introduce its bubble-shaped Neon subcompact, plans to use this game to debut its new Dodge Stratus four-door sedan.

Athletic footwear company Nike Inc. plans an expanded, 90-second version of its spots featuring actor Dennis Hopper as rabid sports fan Stanley Craver, who will air his views on the game of football.

While this year's game is an all-California affair, Gretemeyer said that is not likely to affect viewership.

"The Super Bowl is an event on television no matter who play," she said.

Strong economic growth has made the advertising market especially strong and driven the price for a 30-second spot up 11 percent from last year's $900,000.

All told, industry sources expect ABC, a subsidiary of media company Capital Cities/ABC, to bring in some $75 million worth of advertising for the Super Bowl, including pre- and post-game coverage.

"These are record prices, and we expect to generate record revenues from the game," Gretemeyer said.

"There are sixty, 30-second units within the game. All but two are sold out," Gretemeyer said Wednesday.

"We fully expect to be sold out" by kick-off time, she said.

(c) Reuters Limited 1995. All rights reserved.