TIP/Super Bowl ads

During the Super Bowl, thirty seconds is all it takes for a company to establish itself as an innovator — as in the case of the Apple Macintosh “1984” ad — or leave viewers scratching their heads — like the Electronic Data Systems “herding cats” spot.

Super Bowl advertisements are almost as much fun, and as hotly anticipated, as the game itself. This year, thirty seconds of airtime — and the opportunity to win over viewers — during the Feb. 7 Super Bowl matchup between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints will cost advertisers about $2.5 million, according to media buyers surveyed by the Wall Street Journal.

What will we see this year? And what will we be talking about on Monday morning? The following University of Wisconsin–Madison experts can discuss this year’s Super Bowl ads:

• Thomas O’Guinn, executive director of the Center for Product and Brand Management, 608-265-2485, toguinn@bus.wisc.edu. O’Guinn can talk about the efficiency and cost of Super Bowl ads, as well as the easing of standards. He can also address CBS’s decision to allow a now-controversial ad from Focus on the Family featuring Tim Tebow.
• Deborah Mitchell, 608-262-3409, dmitchell@bus.wisc.edu. Mitchell is executive fellow with the Center for Brand and Product Management at the University of Wisconsin School of Business and is an expert on branding, consumer psychology and consumer behavior.

Mitchell can speak to who’s advertising this year, who has bowed out, who is taking a different direction in terms of strategy and creative approach, which ads are winners and which fail, and the amount being spent, among other topics. She’ll be tweeting as debmitchell01 on the tweet chat #SBadwatch2010 during the Super Bowl, as well as providing commentary before and after the game on her blog, thinkfeelsaydo.com.

For more links to UW–Madison experts and to access other resources for reporters, follow us on Twitter at UWMadisonMedia.