Nielsen's Recap Of 2008 Super Bowl Advertising

Nielsen's Recap Of 2008 Super Bowl Advertising

Most Played-Back Commercial was 'Walt Disney - Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian'; Most Viewed Commercial was 'Victoria's Secret - Woman Holding Football'

NEW YORK, Feb. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The Nielsen Company today released an analysis of advertising trends from Super Bowl XLII, which was viewed by an average audience of 97.5 million people in the U.S., more than any previous Super Bowl. Included is a summary of Super Bowl-related advertising measurement results from Nielsen's media tracking businesses. A few of the highlights include:

-- The highest rated commercial minute was the Victoria's Secret
commercial at 9:44 p.m., which was seen by 103.7 million people.

-- The commercial that had the highest gain from DVR playback was the
Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian movie promotion, which was viewed
by 4.1 million people on DVR playback.

-- Super Bowl XLII was viewed by a record 97.5 million people in the U.S.
more than any previous Super Bowl.

-- According to live polling results from the social networking site,
HeyNielsen.com, the Budweiser Horse/Dalmation spot was the most popular
ad.

-- Pepsi's ad with Justin Timberlake was the most buzzed about ad online,
accounting for 6.7% of Super Bowl ad discussion, followed by E*TRADE
with 5.2%.

-- Among Super Bowl advertisers, the fastest growing Web site was Fox
Interactive Media's MySpace.com/SuperBowlAds, increasing 104 percent
from 441,000 to 900,000 unique visitors.

-- This year's Super Bowl aired 50 minutes and 50 seconds of commercial
time. Fifty-two unique brands aired commercials that competed for
viewers' attention for a total of 84 advertisements.

Viewing the Commercials

To view full-motion commercials, storyboards, and ratings that aired during the Super Bowls since 1999, visit Nielsen's creative website at https://www.nielsenmedia.com/monitorplus/superbowl/.

Top Rated Commercials

The Victoria's Secret commercial that ran at 9:44 p.m. was the most watched commercial during the Super Bowl. It had a rating of 36.2 and was seen by 103.7 million people. These "live plus same day" ratings include viewing that was recorded and played back on digital video recorders (DVRs) on Super Bowl Sunday.

Top-Rated Commercials
Viewers 2+, Live Plus Same Day

Commercial
Minute Viewers
Rank Parent/Brand Description Time Rating (SD) (000)

1 LTD Brands/Victoria's Secret
Woman Holding Football 9:44 PM 36.2 103,758
2 Pepsico Inc
Amp Drinks - Man Puts Clamps
On Chest 9:45 PM 36.2 103,612
2 Promo - Fox American Idol 9:45 PM 36.2 103,612
4 E Trade Financial Corp
E Trade Financial Website
Baby/Man Dressed As Clown 9:20 PM 36.0 102,976
5 Anheuser-Busch Cos Inc
Bud Light Beer
Man Holds Bottle/Locker Room/Glass 9:26 PM 35.5 101,572
5 Hyundai Motor Co
Hyundai Genesis 9:26 PM 35.5 101,572
7 Coca-Cola Co
Coca-Cola Drink
3 Newscasters/Man In Suit 9:12 PM 35.3 101,108
8 Pepsico Inc
Gatorade Drinks-Isotonic G2
Dog Drinking From Bowl 9:21 PM 35.2 100,901
8 Yum! Brands Inc
Taco Bell Restaurant-
Fiesta Platters/2 Men/Guitar/Woman 9:21 PM 35.2 100,901
10 National Football League
Nfl.com Website
Man Plays Musical Instrument 9:01 PM 35.2 100,809

Source: Nielsen Media Research

Methodology: If a commercial had the majority of its duration in minute N, we applied the minute N rating to that commercial.

Most-Viewed Commercials on DVR Playback

Almost 4.2 million people watched the Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian movie promotion seen at 7:46 PM via DVR playback. Nielsen began adding households with Digital Video Recorders to its sample in late 2005 and this is the second Super Bowl in which DVR playback has been included in the television ratings. During Super Bowl XLII, all of the most played-back commercials appeared between 7:18 p.m. and 7:50 p.m.

Absolute
Difference
between Live
and LiveSD
Rank Parent/Brand Description Time (000)

1 Walt Disney Co.
Chronicles Of Narnia Prince Caspian
- Motion Picture 7:46 PM 4,167
2 Promo - Fox American Idol 7:39 PM 4,069
3 Pepsico Inc
Sobe Life Water / Woman & Lizards Dance 7:24 PM 4,049
4 Pepsico Inc
Doritos Tortilla Chips Nacho Cheese/ 7:50 PM 4,017
Mouse Trap
5 General Motors Corp
GMC Yukon Trucks Hybrid 7:38 PM 4,001
5 Bud Light Beer
Men At Table / Women / Chicken/ Couple 7:38 PM 4,001
7 Office Of National Drug Control Policy
Man Holding Cup 7:25 PM 3,914
8 National Football League
Animated Man & Child 7:48 PM 3,843
9 General Electric Co
Leatherheads Motion Picture 7:19 PM 3,814
9 Garmin Navigational Equip
Car Driven / Napoleon Spoof 7:19 PM 3,814

Source: Nielsen Media Research

Super Bowl A Hit With Viewers In More Ways Than One

This year's Super Bowl was a ratings bonanza as the big game was the most watched in history averaging 97.4 million viewers. Among all programs, it was the second highest-viewed of all time.

Top 10 Programs Among Persons 2+ (000)

Per2+
Rank Program Network (000s) Telecast Date

1 M*A*S*H Special CBS 105,970 Feb. 28, 1983
2 Super Bowl XLII Game FOX 97,448 Feb. 3, 2008
3 Super Bowl XXX Game NBC 94,076 Jan. 28, 1996
4 Super Bowl XLI Game CBS 93,250 Feb. 4, 2007
5 Super Bowl XX Game NBC 92,564 Jan. 26, 1986
6 Super Bowl XXVII Game NBC 90,987 Jan. 31, 1993
7 Super Bowl XL Game ABC 90,749 Feb. 5, 2006
8 Super Bowl XXXII Game NBC 90,004 Jan. 25, 1998
9 Super Bowl XXVIII Game NBC 89,996 Jan. 30, 1994
10 Super Bowl XXXVIII Game CBS 89,795 Feb. 1, 2004

Source: Nielsen Media Research

Here are some additional viewership highlights:

-- In terms of total audience, 148.3 million people watched at least 6
minutes of Super Bowl XLII making it the Super Bowl with the largest
reach (unduplicated audience) ever.

-- Locally, Boston had the #1 Metered Market performance with a 55.6
HH rtg. New York was #32 with a 44.9 HH rtg.

-- Super Bowl XLII also drew large numbers of ethnic viewers. Ratings for
African-American Persons 2+ were up 4% over 2007. Hispanic and Asian
viewers drew an 18.0 and 21.8 rating among Persons 2+, respectively.

-- The big game did exceptionally well in upscale households with Persons
2+ in homes with an income of $100,000+ indexing 24% higher than the
total US audience. In terms of education, those households of Persons
2+ with 4+ Years of College indexed 14% higher than the total US
audience.

-- Within DVR households, Super Bowl XLII averaged a 39.8 rating among
Persons 2+ -- 17% higher than the total US audience.

-- In HD capable/receivable households, Super Bowl XLII averaged a 47.6
rating among Persons 2+ -- a 40% increase over the total US audience.

-- Within homes with Internet access, Super Bowl XLII averaged a 36.7
rating among Persons 2+ -- 8% higher than the total US audience.

Hey!Nielsen Live Polling

Hey! Nielsen, the company's new social-networking site, recruited over 200 influential members to participate in a ground-breaking survey for Super Bowl XLII. Members were asked to score each commercial on a scale from 1 (fumble) to 4 (touchdown) in real-time. A series of questions were given post-game to drill deeper into qualitative analysis.

According to live polling results, famous personalities scored high among members. Budweiser was the highest ranked ad, with an average of 3.67 for its Horse/Dalmation spot. The brand's Fire Breathe and Cheese ads were also among the top 10. Coke and Pepsi closely follow the number one ad, ranked 2 and 3 respectively.

Deeper qualitative analysis reveals that most viewers wanted something new and funny, as 62% of members said that humor influences their purchase behavior. Other qualities of an ad that motivate consumers include excitement (9%), surprise (8%) and inspiration (8%).

Rank Brand: AD Avg.

1 Budweiser: Horse/Dalmatian 3.67
2 Coke: Parade Balloons 3.56
3 Diet Pepsi Max 3.53
4 FedEx 3.51
5 Pepsi: Timberlake 3.50
6 Bridgestone: Animals Screaming 3.45
7 Bud Light: Fire Breathe 3.41
8 NFL: Ephraim Salaam 3.39
9 Bridgestone: Richard Simmons 3.32
10 Bud Light: Cheese Ad 3.31

Super Bowl Ads Drive Web Traffic

This year more than ever, Super Bowl advertisers focused on driving Web traffic with their premium TV spots. In turn, the Web is dramatically increasing the longevity of Super Bowl ads, with the rise of social networking and video sharing sites.

Among Super Bowl advertisers, the fastest growing Web site from Super Bowl Sunday to Monday was Fox Interactive Media's MySpace.com/SuperBowlAds, increasing 104 percent from 441,000 to 900,000 unique visitors. Victoria's Secret and FOX Sports on MSN also saw significant daily gains, growing 86 percent and 72 percent, respectively. Among Super Bowl advertisers collectively, the Web traffic increase from Sunday to Monday was 24 percent.

A handful of advertisers did not have reportable Web traffic on Sunday, but saw a bump on Monday, including FedEx, E*Trade and Sprint.

Super Bowl Advertisers with Fastest Growing Sunday to Monday Unique Audience

Feb. 3-4, 2008

Sunday UA Monday UA Sun. - Mon.
Web Site (000) (000) Growth

myspace.com/superbowlads 441* 900 104%
Victoria's Secret 196* 364* 86%
FOX Sports on MSN 2,563 4,403 72%
Chase 1,652 2,584 56%
Dell 1,562 2,056 32%

Source: Nielsen Online (U.S. Home and Work)

Note: Includes only those web sites with reportable traffic on both days. * These web sites do not meet minimum sample size standards. Projected and average measures for these sites may exhibit large changes month-to-month as a result.

Advertising Takes a Large Share of Overall Super Bowl Discussion

The Super Bowl is not only an event for football fanatics, but also an opportunity for advertisers to reach a larger audience. According to Nielsen Online, 33% of all online consumer discussion involving Super Bowl XLII was about advertisements.

Brands by Buzz -- Which Super Bowl Commercial Generated the Most Buzz?

Pepsi's ad with Justin Timberlake generated the most buzz online accounting for 6.7% of Super Bowl ad discussion, followed by E*TRADE with 5.2%. First-time Super Bowl advertiser and luxury auto brand Audi ranks third, with 4.4%, mainly driven by auto enthusiasts as well as general consumers. Salesgenie.com rounds out the top 10 with 2.6% of discussion, which is mostly negative buzz as consumers refer to the ad as "un-PC."

Top Advertisers, Categories, and Brands

This year's Super Bowl aired 50 minutes and 50 seconds of commercial time, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus, the competitive intelligence service of The Nielsen Company. Fifty-two unique brands aired commercials that competed for viewers' attention for a total of 84 advertisements.

The categories that advertised the most this year included Automotive, Motion Pictures, and Beer. In the top slot, Automotive aired 5 1/2 minutes of commercial time, adding one minute to its total from 2007. Motion Pictures followed airing 4 minutes and 15 seconds of ads, significantly increasing from under 2 minutes in the 2007 game. Finally, the Beer category, which has traditionally led the Super Bowl, dropped to the third largest category with 4 minutes of air time, compared to 5 minutes last year.

Top Ad Categories

Category Minutes of Exposure

Automotive 5 1/2
Motion Pictures 4 1/4
Beer 4

Source: Nielsen Monitor-Plus

The Automotive category increased time from last year by one minute seconds to 51/2 minutes. Hyundai Genesis ran 2 ads at 30-seconds each; Audi R8 ran one minute-long commercial; Toyota Corolla and CarMax Auto Dealership each ran a 30-second commercial; GMC Yukon Hybrid Trucks ran one 60-second spot; and Acura MDX, Jeep Grand Cherokee, and Toyota Sequoia each ran one 30-second commercial to promote their truck brands.

After cutting back in 2007, Motion Pictures returned with 4 minutes and 15 seconds of commercial time. Eight movies were advertised this year, compared to only 4 in 2007. During the 2006 Super Bowl, 9 movies advertised totaling 4 1/2 minutes. Buena Vista is the only studio to advertise more than one motion picture (Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian and Walt Disney Wall-E). It is also the only movie studio to air a 60-second ad (for Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian).

The Beer category decreased its airtime from 5 minutes in 2007 to 4 minutes in this year's game. As has been the case for the last eight years, Anheuser-Busch was the leading advertiser. The beer category included advertising for Bud Light and Budweiser. As the brand did in 2006, Bud Light aired three minutes of ads (six 30-second spots). Budweiser ran one 60-second commercial.

Top Advertisers Commercial Time

Anheuser-Busch Inc. 4 minutes
Coca-Cola USA 2 minutes
Buena Vista Pictures 1 1/2 minutes
Frito-Lay Inc. 1 1/2 minutes
Pepsi-Cola Co. 1 1/2 minutes

Source: Nielsen Monitor-Plus

Since 1993, Nielsen Monitor-Plus has been tracking Super Bowl advertisers and is reporting the following Super Bowl advertising "rookies" for this time period: Dell, Schering-Plough (Claritin) and Hyundai.

Top Sponsorship Brand Exposures

According to Nielsen's Sponsorship Scorecard, which measures exposure to in-game advertising, Cadillac was the top brand in terms of gross impressions. This was due in large part to Cadillac's sponsorship of the MVP award, won by Eli Manning, and the corresponding graphic, that remained on-screen during the entire post-game ceremony.

Tot.# Tot. Dur. Tot. Dur. Gross
Brand Occ. (hh:mm:ss) (secs) (000)

1 CADILLAC AUTOS & TRUCKS 13 00:23:11 1391 1,586,589
2 GATORADE DRINKS-ISOTONIC 107 00:06:39 399 632,750
3 MOTOROLA ELECTRONIC EQUIP 59 00:04:06 246 386,159
4 SOBE LIFE WATER BOTTLED WATER 11 00:03:44 224 341,635
5 BRIDGESTONE TIRES 8 00:02:29 149 219,620
6 UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX 19 00:01:47 107 165,265
7 BUDWEISER BEER 8 00:01:18 78 122,771
8 BUD LIGHT BEER 5 00:00:30 30 43,853
9 MYSPACE.COM WEBSITE 2 00:00:27 27 41,259
10 TOYOTA AUTOS & TRUCKS 7 00:00:26 26 40,713

Source: Nielsen Sponsorship Scorecard

Advertising and High Definition TV:

For the second year in a row, Nielsen Strategic Media Research conducted an online study following the Super Bowl in order to learn more about Super Bowl commercials and viewing in High Definition (HD). In this survey, conducted between 7:00 a.m. on Monday and 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday, 274 randomly selected individuals over age 12 were asked about their Super Bowl viewing experience. Highlights include:

-- 41% of viewers watched the Super Bowl in HD
-- People who viewed the game in HD could recall 21% more commercials than
respondents who did not view in HD
-- People who viewed the Super Bowl in HD were 80% more likely than non-HD
viewers to be watching the game in a group of 6 or more people
-- The Monday morning quarterbacks all have one question burning on their
minds: "How much is brand exposure in the Super Bowl really worth?"
Well, the week before the Super Bowl, 42% of respondents to Nielsen's
SportsQuest(TM) survey named Anheuser-Busch or a Budweiser brand as the
beer brand that first comes to mind. With its seven Super Bowl spots,
51% of respondents in our Super Bowl study named Anheuser-Busch or
Budweiser. Top of mind awareness for Budweiser was over 52% among HD
viewers and just under 50% among non-HD Viewers.

[Note: Meant to give a quick glimpse into commercial recall and HD broadcasting of the Super Bowl, the results of this study are not necessarily statistically significant but provide strong directional evidence of the impact of HD and advertising as it relates to the Super Bowl.]

About The Nielsen Company

The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), online intelligence (NetRatings and BuzzMetrics), trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek). The privately held company is active in more that 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com.

Source: The Nielsen Company

CONTACT: Gary Holmes, +1-646-654-8975, for The Nielsen Company

Web site:

http://www.nielsen.com/
https://www.nielsenmedia.com/monitorplus/superbowl

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