Susan Krashinsky, Marketing Reporter for The Globe and Mail in Toronto, reports that this Sunday’s menu of adverts won’t be on air north of the U.S. border.
The prevailing notion is that the game just does not have the cultural resonance here that it does in the United States. And yet, the Super Bowl was the third most-watched television program in Canada in all of 2011 – only the Stanley Cup Finals were bigger – drawing 6.53 million viewers, according to BBM Canada. Why not take advantage of those numbers?
Krashinsky points out that marketers could buy their way into Canadian living rooms for a song. NBC is charging $3.5-million (U.S.) to run a 30-second commercial during the big game, according to reports. By contrast, sources here say a 30-second spot on CTV runs closer to $130,000 (Canadian).
Krashinsky also explains that talent fees are country-specific, so a Canadian marketer would be faced with paying extra fees. That could mount up quickly in Super Bowl Sunday, with celebs like Elton John, Flavor Flav and many others appearing in ads and collecting fat paychecks.
This Pepsi ad, for instance, will not be shown in Canada: