It amazes me how much money is spent on Superbowl commercials each year. 2.5 million dollars for a 30 second spot. These companies are all paying large amounts of money to spam viewers. Sure it’s fun to see Justin Timberlake get thrown around or watch a giant mouse tackle some poor guy eating Dorritos, but then what? Are the commercials just a waste of money?

Well, it depends. Commercials have gone from being informative to being a source of entertainment. Commercials are movies packed into 30 seconds and it’s the marketers job to make sure that those commercials get 2 thumbs up.

So why spend all this money on a Superbowl commercial? Think bigger picture. All of those entertaining commercials are now going to be featured on social media sites such as youtube. The successful commercials will get passed around and the others will die. Remember that Justin Timberlake commercial? It already has almost a million views.

However, spending 3 millions dollars on a commercial IS a waste if:

  • the commercial is not viral
  • the commercial does not provide information on features or benefits
  • the commercial doesn’t make sense
  • and most importantly, if the commercial can’t be found on social media sites to being with (anyone see the Dorito’s commercial?)

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