A Day of Passes and Pitches

Why is it that Madison Avenue can turn commercials into must-see TV on Super Bowl Sunday but falls so short of the creative goal line most other days? Nearly 150 million guacamole-dipping viewers will plant themselves in front of television sets for Super Bowl XXXIX.

Absent a wardrobe malfunction, the game’s TiVo moment could very well be a commercial rather than a touchdown. A polling firm says Americans will take their bathroom breaks during the game to avoid missing commercials, and after the game the NFL will provide an instant replay of the commercials on its cable channel.

Advertisers are paying an estimated $80,000 per second for Super Bowl spots, knowing Americans will sit still for commercials that are expected to entertain, captivate and make them laugh. Think of horses kicking field goals, a woman tossing a sledgehammer and a not-so-Mean Joe Greene. Many of these ads will offer more flash than substance, more likely to win Clios than customers for the companies shelling out all that cash. But the power of advertising to attract attention, even become part of the national culture, is never so clear as it will be this Sunday.

Super Bowl advertising doesn’t play in a vacuum; it often reflects the trends of the day. Dot-coms dominated commercial breaks five years ago -- no surprise that many of those big spenders no longer exist. In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, one of the most memorable commercials showed the famous Budweiser Clydesdales working their way across country to ground zero.

So what to expect this year, following the 2004 broadcast, in which one of the best Super Bowl games ever played second string to an exposed breast? The NFL and Fox have slapped a tight rein on the creative types. Paul McCartney won’t be crossing any line at halftime. Players have been ordered not to moon the spectators, and advertisers similarly pledge not to stray too far from the middle of the road. A beer company dumped a spot that poked fun at Janet Jackson. A spot that showed Mickey Rooney’s bare behind also failed to make the grade. We hope the commercials will still be worth watching despite all this emphasis on not offending anyone.