Super Bowl ad slots still open as veterans pass

Most advertising slots for the 2009 Super Bowl that weren’t sold in September still haven’t moved, a change from earlier in the year when NBC announced the air time had been selling faster than usual.

Super Bowl regulars such as FedEx Corp., Garmin Ltd., Salesgenie.com and General Motors Corp. are sitting out this year’s football championship, to be held Feb. 1 in Tampa, Fla. But NBC says it is negotiating with other potential advertisers for the eight 30-second advertising spots that remain open.

NBC has sold 88% of the roughly 65 spots available for Super Bowl XLIII, said Brian Walker, senior director of communications at NBC Sports in New York. In September, NBC said 85% of the 30-second spots had sold for about $3 million each. Typically, 60% of Super Bowl slots sell by then.

The National Football League championship is considered the advertising event of the year, and it often heralds new trends in advertising sales and styles.

Walker said NBC could technically sell ad spots up to the last minute before the event. He declined to say whether NBC -- a unit of NBC Universal, which is owned by General Electric Co. -- is facing pressure from companies to discount rates.