17 If marketers' long-tail efforts will have to begin away from the gridiron, NBC has picked up a great deal of business by appealing to the clients' competitive instincts. "Budgeting is often a factor of competitive parity," Madway says. "This is one reason why the Super Bowl still does well even in a recession. Companies can take advantage of relative scarcity. If there's a lack of voice, they can own the conversation by buying into this one game." By way of illustration, there is the beleaguered automotive category. On the home front, the Big Three are in no position to plop down a few million dollars for a single 30-second spot. (When you're out there begging for alms, tin cup in hand, you can't exactly justify that sort of promotional outlay.) With GM, Ford and Chrysler out of the picture, foreign automakers like Audi and Hyundai have jumped in with both feet. Audi's 60-second spot for its A6 sedan will run in the first commercial pod following the 6:18 p.m. EST kickoff, appearing after Budweiser's opening salvo and a teaser for Sony Pictures' Angels & Demons. The ad pokes fun at the stock Hollywood chase sequence, tailing actor Jason Statham as he tear-asses his way from the San Francisco of the Bullitt era to Dade County circa its Miami Vice heyday. While Audi crashes its way through cinematic history, Hyundai is taking the highbrow route, enlisting cellist Yo-Yo Ma to perform a Bach composition over glam shots of the 2009 Genesis sedan. Created by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, the pair of 30-second spots will also be available at Hyundai.com, where consumers will be invited to edit the creative. While classical music may not seem like an intuitive match for the ritualized violence of pro football, Haljun says that context isn't always obvious: "You have to look at everything in terms of a price-value relationship. Can you use this to reach someone who you wouldn't normally reach? If they're in the right frame of mind and it's relevant, then you may have something."
Villanova School of Business 2009 Media Report