Here are some snapshots of the information I received in a press release sent to me by The Nielson Company. The full release is at the bottom of this post.
- TELEVISION: Last year’s tilt between the Patriots and the Giants was viewed by a record 97.5 million people nationwide. As expected, the Super Bowl was the most-watched TV broadcast in 2008.
- ADVERTISERS: The cost of a 30-second spot in last year’s Super Bowl was $2.7 million. Total spending for the game reached over $195 million. Anheuser-Busch bought the most commercial time (4 minutes total). The highest-rated commercial minute was the Victoria’s Secret spot at 9:44pm, seen by 103.7 million viewers. The most-liked ad was produced by the NFL. The most-recalled ad was produced by FedEx.
- ONLINE: Super Bowl advertisers saw a 24 percent jump in Web traffic the day after last year’s Super Bowl. The Pepsi commercial featuring Justin Timberlake gathered the most Internet buzz.
- MUSIC AND MOVIES: In the week following Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ halftime performance last year, sales of their “Greatest Hits” album jumped 196%. Petty’s “Anthology: Through the Years” album jumped 240% that same week. Box office sales on the weekend of Super Bowl Sunday show notable decline. The NFL Super Bowl XLII DVD was the #1 selling sports DVD in 2008.
- SNACKS AND BEER: The Super Bowl is the 8th-largest beer-selling event each year (right behind Easter). Markets with hometown teams involved in the big game are more likely buy more beer. Potato chips are the snack of choice at Super Bowl parties, but tortilla chips are quickly gaining.
- CONSUMER TRENDS: There’s a softer side to football fans. People identifying themselves as avid NFL fans outpaced total U.S. spending in skin care by 74% from 2005 to 2007. NFL fans are also more likely to own hi-tech electronic items than the average adult.
- DEMOGRAPHICS: About 138 million adults – or more than 60% of the adult population in the U.S. – are NFL fans. The league is slightly more likely to attract fans from higher education and income brackets. Fans are also generally more physically active than the average American.