Commercials score more touchdowns than the teams.

America is kicking off its New Year with the Super Bowl and in a recent online poll, over half of respondents are planning to watch the biggest football game of the year.  However, what they are really paying attention to is not necessary happening on the field. 

Men were much more intent on sitting down to watch the game live, with 74% reporting that they’d be tuning in compared to 58% of women.  No doubt many women may end up watching the game too if their partners have it on, but 27% said they were not interested in the Super Bowl. 

Its not just the game which keeps many glued to their seats, 41% of  survey respondents seem to think the commercials are the best part of the SuperBowl.
Men were more likely than women to indicate that the action on the field was the best part (57% vs. 24% respectively), while women were twice as likely as males to favour the commercials (50% vs. 25% respectively). 

Super Bowl commercials are big business for advertisers.  In anticipation for the 2012 Super Bowl, NBC, which will be broadcasting the game on February 5, announced that it sold out of advertising spots back in November.  According to the Boston Herald, the average 30-second spot held a price tag of between $3 million and $4 million dollars, The cost of airtime is thus over $100,000 plus per second.  This seemingly outrageous expense is, however, pocket change compared to the benefits that come from holding the attention of over half of American households at the same time.  It has been estimated that Super Bowl ads can reap more than $2.5 billion dollars in estimated revenue. 

The stand-out ads usually come from super brands such as Coco Cola, Chrysler and Budweiser who boast large disposable budgets for lucrative event such as the Super Bowl. Interestingly, other companies use the opportunity to continue with their brand stories in aim of increasing brand equity.. One such story is M&Ms who will be announcing  a new female member of their family - Ms. Brown. What better way to say hello to America than by making her debut during the company's Super Bowl commercial. 

In-between the commercials, the action on the field continues.   After five months and a 16-game NFL season, the final four teams are in a race for the finish, the New England Patriots will host the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship game, and the New York Giants will travel to San Francisco to play the 49ers in the NFC Championship game. The winners of these two games will determine the two teams that will play in the Super Bowl on February 5.

No one team was favoured to win above the others.  Support for all teams was fairly evenly distributed among US respondents, Regardless of which team takes the title on the night - one thing is for sure – the Super Bowl will certainly be entertaining irrespective of your reason for tuning in.