Skip to content

CTV expects a big Super Bowl party – even without the fancy U.S. ads

Every year at this time, the ball is snapped, the pretzel bowl is filled and the wail goes out across Canada: “Why can’t we see the American Super Bowl ads?”

Every year at this time, the ball is snapped, the pretzel bowl is filled and the wail goes out across Canada: “Why can’t we see the American Super Bowl ads?”

The reason, as it has been for decades, is that the signal for the Canadian rights holder — in this case CTV — doesn’t have the ads. That signal replaces the U.S. network feed on Canadian cable and satellite carriers. The only on-air Super Bowl ads we see are the 50 or so Canadian commercials shown on CTV’s broadcast of the game.

Which, to be fair, is CTV’s right. The broadcaster pays big bucks for the rights to carry the Super Bowl and makes its money back through ad sales. This year, thanks to the new way of gathering ratings data in Canada — through Portable People Meters, introduced by BBM Canada last September — CTV should expect the largest numbers ever for a Canadian Super Bowl audience.

The electronic sensors are worn or carried by individuals participating in the ratings sample. The devices hear TV signals — even in bars and restaurants — and seem to be counting more viewers in Canada this season, particularly people watching live sporting events.

This will be of great value to CTV, anxious to use that large Super Bowl audience to promote not just their upcoming Winter Olympics coverage but also newly announced Canadian shows Hiccups, Dan for Mayor and The Bridge.

Last November, Montreal’s thrilling come-from-behind victory over Saskatchewan in the Grey Cup drew an astounding 5.1 million viewers to TSN. Add over a million fans who watched the Alouettes victory on RDS in Quebec, and the CFL’s top football game drew more than 6.1 million viewers across Canada.

TSN scored another big weekly ratings win in January when nearly 5.3 million Canadians tuned in to watch the World Junior Hockey Championships.

Those will be tough totals to beat for the Super Bowl, even though it’s airing on CTV’s main network.

Last year’s Super Bowl broadcast averaged over 95 million viewers on NBC in the U.S., easily making it the most-watched show of the year there. In Canada, the game drew a little over 3.6 million viewers, well below the mark set for the Academy Awards or even the season premiere of House on Global last September.

Why is the Super Bowl not the draw in Canada it is every year in the U.S.? The obvious answer is that it is not our game and that there is no home rooting interest, although there may be as many Colts or Saints fans in Toronto, say, as there are Argo fans. There is no college football frenzy in this country and no tailgate party traditions to stir interest in an ultimate, one-day sporting event.

But another reason, it could be argued, is the fact that those over-hyped Super Bowl ads are blocked at the border. Even some U.S. polls indicate that more people watch the Super Bowl for the ads than the action.

Reports about controversial ad campaigns surface every year leading up to the game, as they have this week. Canadians shouldn’t feel too left out — a lot of the hype this year surrounds ads even Americans won’t see.

One ad for the gay dating site ManCrunch was to have featured two male football fans — one in a Packers jersey and the other wearing the Vikings colours — kissing and embracing after reaching into the same bowl of popcorn. CBS says it violated their broadcast standards. ManCrunch has accused CBS of discrimination — and meanwhile enjoys record hits for the ad posted for all to see on its website.

Getting an ad rejected for the Super Bowl may be a bigger advertiser touchdown than getting it on the air. The website Go Daddy has been pulling this stunt for years, submitting ads it knows will be deemed too steamy (one last year featured car racer Danica Patrick) only to cash in with all the press coverage sending the curious over to their site.

It’s a neat way to save the estimated US$2.8 million CBS is charging this Sunday for a 30-second spot. (Canadian advertisers get a bargain, with 30-second spots reportedly going for less than C$120,000.)

Some longtime sponsors, such as Pepsi, have opted to sit out this Super Bowl, directing their entire marketing strategies to the Internet (the first time in 23 years the soft drink hasn’t been in on the broadcast). For the second straight year, car manufacturers have parked their ad campaigns (although not in Canada, where Hyundai will be a player). Those moves haven’t appeared to hurt CBS, which sold out every spot for the big game by the end of last month.

What American viewers will see are plenty of ads for beer, other soft drinks and snack foods. The U.S. census bureau has spent US$2.5 million on a message to get their citizens to fill out the 2010 census which will be mailed in a few weeks.

Movie ads for upcoming films like Iron Man 2 and The Last Airbender are also slated to run.

Bill Brioux is a freelance TV columnist based in Brampton, Ont.