By Ben Klayman
May 18 (Reuters) – General Motors Co will not
advertise in next year’s Super Bowl because it is too expensive,
the top marketing executive for the U.S. automaker said three
days after the company said it was dropping paid ads on Facebook
Inc.
The 2013 Super Bowl will be broadcast by CBS Corp,
which is selling 30-second ads for as much as $4 million.
Spots on NBC’s broadcast of this year’s National Football
League championship game, the most heavily watched annual event
on U.S. television, cost about $3.5 million per 30-second spot.
NBC is majority-owned by Comcast Corp.
“We understand the reach the Super Bowl provides, but with
the significant increase in price we simply can’t justify the
expense,” GM global marketing chief Joel Ewanick said in a
statement.
GM, which ran four ads during this year’s Super Bowl
broadcast, also chose not to advertise during the Super Bowl in
2009, just ahead of its June filing for bankruptcy protection.
CBS spokesman Dana McClintock declined to comment.
When the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots
for the Super Bowl title in February, more than 111 million
Americans tuned in, making it the most watched TV program in
U.S. history.
The NFL championship game annually draws the biggest viewing
audience and advertisers jockey for the available TV spots,
which makes GM’s absence something CBS is not likely to miss,
analysts said.
“A couple of years ago, GM pulled out of the Super Bowl. I
don’t think that had too much impact on pricing,” said Brad
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Adgate, senior vice president of research at research firm
Horizon Media. “It’s an opportunity for others. I would venture
a guess that someone would pick up the slack and see this as an
opportunity.”
The largest advertisers in Super Bowls every year include
automakers, movie studios and beer maker Anheuser Busch.
GM, which ranks behind Procter & Gamble Co and AT&T;
Inc in advertising spending, spent $1.1 billion on U.S.
ads last year, according to ad-tracking firm Kantar Media.
Overall, GM’s spending on advertising rose 5.2 percent last year
to $4.48 billion, according to the automaker’s annual report.
GM spokesman Pat Morrissey said the 2012 advertising budget
will be about even with last year. But GM has been shifting its
marketing budget around, announcing on Tuesday that it would
stop running paid ads on Facebook.
Ewanick has led a consolidation of GM’s ad agencies globally
that is expected to save the Detroit company $2 billion over
five years.
However, Edmunds.com analyst Michelle Krebs questioned GM’s
decision.
“It feels premature for GM to make such a big decision
regarding Super Bowl, especially since GM will be launching a
new line of full-size pickup trucks and full-size SUVs around
Super Bowl time,” she said. “The Super Bowl audience is ideal
for those vehicles and the timing is right.”
Next year, GM will begin selling new versions of the
Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, which analysts say
generate profits of $12,000 to $14,000 per vehicle.