NEW YORK — More Super Bowl ad rookies will be trying to score a touchdown this Sunday.
There will be 15 new Super Bowl advertisers this year, the most since 2000, before the economy fell into what would be the first of two recessions since. Advertising experts say the rookie interest in Super Bowl ads is a positive sign that companies are feeling good in the most recent economic recovery.
New advertisers like Carnival cruises and Skittles candy are hoping to capitalize on the massive size of the Super Bowl audience: The game is advertising’s greatest showcase, with more than 110 million people expected to tune in to watch to the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots.
And more than the sheer size of the audience, ad experts say new advertisers also are hoping to draw from the goodwill people feel toward Super Bowl ads.
But at about $4.5 million for a 30-second spot, advertising during the Super Bowl is a huge gamble too. Some first time advertisers succeed in becoming a household name: established itself with a racy Super Bowl spot 11 years ago. But others misfire: Groupon’s first and only Super Bowl effort in 2011 was criticized for being insensitive
“If you need to get a huge audience you can get it here,” said Kelly O’Keefe, a professor at VCU Brandcenter in Richmond, Va.
, which hosts customizable web sites, said its 30-second Super Bowl ad is right for the company right now: it went public in 2013 and has been growing its user base. Now it’s ready to reach a broader audience. The ad shows retired NFL players like Terrell Owens and Brett Farve starting humorous fictional businesses post NFL. Owens, for example, starts a pie company.
