Last weekend set the stage for a
great time to be an American citizen. The release of American Sniper set record
sales in the box office and the final games were played to decide what teams
were going to play in America’s greatest sporting event. That is right, we are
only a week and half away from the Super Bowl where the New England Patriots
are taking on the defending champion Seattle Seahawks. The Super Bowl has
become the perfect excuse to gather with friends and family and enjoy what all
that the United States encompasses, but that’s not what has gathered my
attention. My focus is on the statistics and the some of the more interesting
facts surrounding this game. Everyone imagines that this event can only boost
the economy with all the hype surrounding it, but I imagine most Americans
would be shocked when looking at the actual statistics surrounding this night.
When I think of the super bowl I think of two things: the game and more
importantly the commercials. This is the grand daddy of them all and serious
money is spent in promoting products. A single 30-second advertisement will
cost a company more than 3.5 million dollars. I personally feel that is money
well spent as everyone (including those who don’t know a touchdown from a field
goal) will notice and judge what they feel is the best commercial of the year.
Originally an advertisement cost only 42 thousand dollars, oh how the times
have changed. Commercials aren’t the
only place cash is spent at a crazy rate.
Super bowls have been known to bring over 150 million dollars from
sponsors, fans and the teams. The fact that I most interesting was about the
food. Welcome to America where it seems everyone buys way too much fast food
and drinks an outrageous amount of beer. But it’s not the food you would expect to see
at the top of the most consumed snack. It’s not pizza, chicken wings, or any
sum of chips, but vegetables. Yes those healthy greens most people hate eating.
The country that is known for having the
highest obesity rate in the world chooses to eat healthy food more than any
other while celebrating. Don’t get it wrong, Domino’s alone estimates they will
deliver over 11 million slices of pizza but still this isn’t the same America
that I know. I think everyone is quite excited and hoping for a great game, I
know at least I am, but one thing that I find very interesting is the
economical impacts and statistics surrounding the Super Bowl.
Stats from http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/photos/msn-super-bowl-sunday-fun-facts-trivia-020112#img_1
Stats from http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/photos/msn-super-bowl-sunday-fun-facts-trivia-020112#img_1
You raise the good point that it is very crucial to get actual data and not rely on stereotypes, rumor, and common wisdom. I would have never guessed that vegetables were such a huge factor, but the more I think of it, the more it seems to make sense. I'm sure I will down plenty alongside my beer-battered fried treats.
ReplyDeleteInteresting point Jack. I know my mom for instance only watches the Superbowl for the commercials, so they definitely do make an impact. The facts you stated about how much a corporation pays to air a commercial during the game makes me wonder how much money these broadcasting networks really have. $3.5 million times thirty commercials is $105 million. Quite the steal for one game I'd say. As long as the commercials are reaching out to the average football fan (cars, beer, Viagra, etc.) I agree that they are worth the money, since millions of fans are exposed to their products.
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