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2009 Super Bowl Commercials

NBC is selling Super Bowl spots for $3 million per 30-second commercial in 2009. That's more than 10 percent higher than the average $2.7 million that Fox asked for in 2008.

But will major U.S. companies - hoping to hit it big this Super Bowl Sunday - pay the new, exhorbitant amount for such short air time? And in a financial recession?

You bet they will. Last year's game drew almost 98 million viewers, the biggest TV audience for any U.S. sporting event.

By January 2009, NBC had already sold most of its inventory to Pepsi and CocaCola, Anheuser-Bush, and a number of big car companies, (ailing GM is out this year) along with the mega movie previews that have become the mainstays of any televised Super Bowl match.

Speaking of Anheuser-Bush, watch for the return of the popular Clydsdale horses to make an appearance this year as Bud hawks its new Bud Light Lime and Bud American Ale products. Meanwhile, GoDaddy fans won't be disappointed this year as GoDaddy girl Danica Patrick returns in one, and possibly two, 30-second spots.

Also on the comeback trail in 2009 is Monster.com, going up against ol' standby CareerBuilders who will not be (sadly!) bringing their famous office monkeys out of retirement for this year's campaign.

The game also lured some new marketers to the February 1 game, including Pedigree - the dog-food brand that should provide some warm and fuzzy moments during the all-important commercial lineup.

Denny's also joins the fray for the first time in 2009 with what looks like a pretty funny takeoff on The Sopranos.

Beside beer and chips, the strongest advertisers remain the big Hollywood studios, so look forward to sneak peaks at 2009 blockbusters. They include the "Monsters vs. Aliens"; the new Star Trek, and Sony Pictures with one spot for the DaVinci Code sequel, "Angels and Demons." Fox also promises a 30-second spot for the X-Men franchise "Wolverine" starring Hugh Jackman.

Of course, maybe the biggest buzz leading up to the game surrounds the ads that have been rejected — most notably from animal rights organization PETA showing scantilly-clad babes promoting "Studies Show That Vegetarians Have Better Sex" (see video). In a similar vein, E-Trade is also banking on similar buzz — with "outakes" of their legendary baby commercials, or what we like to call "Junior Goes Potty Mouth."

More about Super Bowl ads on the Web:

Superbowl-Ads.com

Super Bowl Commercials on Google Video

Using Super Bowl Ads in the Classroom

SUPER BOWL 2009