The Big Three Detroit automakers will not be running any Superbowl ads for the first time in eight years. Hyundai, Audi, and Toyota will be buying advertising this year, and so will the website Cars.com, but Ford, GM, and Chrysler will sit on the sidelines. Ad time on the sponsor network NBC is running between $2.8 and $3 million for 30 seconds. All three American auto manufacturers are cutting their marketing budgets for 2009 with an eye to cost-effectiveness versus high visibility.
“It’s probably a good thing, considering where they are right now,” said Gary Topolewski , a prominent Detroit advertising executive. “They have to be smarter in how they communicate.” George Rogers, president of Team Detroit, which handles Ford Motor advertising, said that $3 million “is a lot to invest for 30 seconds of very distributed eyeballs who primarily want to be entertained.”
Tags: Big Three, Superbowl Ads