"Advertising is the rattling of a stick inside a swill bucket."

- George Orwell

First-time advertisers get Super Bowl kick
GRANT ROBERTSON

Researchers at the University of Colorado believe they have discovered an uptick in stock prices that happens a few weeks before kickoff each year, which is directly related to the companies who buy advertising.

A study of the stock prices for 279 publicly traded companies between 1989 and 2003 has revealed that, on average, companies who don't normally buy commercials during the Super Bowl get an unexplained bump in their stock price when they wade into the advertising spectacle.
Many of the returns won't make investors rich, but some of the jumps are significant. Across the entire field of companies studied, news that a company is spending big cash on a Super Bowl ad leads to an average increase of 1 per cent in the stocks, the study found. However, some companies have seen bigger increases of nearly 15 per cent.

Once the regular fluctuations over the previous 90 days are removed from the stock price, the trend becomes evident enough to suggest the game plays a role in the psychology of investors, said Eric Hughson, a finance professor at the University of Colorado who worked on the study.
"For companies whose advertising announcements are not expected, those firms experience positive stock price reactions on average," Mr. Hughson said. "It's not the most gigantic thing you've ever seen [for some]. But I would say it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick."

The report -- titled Touchdown or Fumble -- is an attempt to determine the value of a Super Bowl ad beyond the direct impact of a commercial on consumer behaviour. More U.S. households tune into the game than any other sporting event and a 30-second spot on CBS this year costs $2.6-million (U.S.).

In the past, several non-regular advertisers have enjoyed increases during the two-day period after their plans for a Super Bowl commercial were announced, Mr. Hughson said. Reebok International Ltd. rose 5.1 per cent in 1992, while E*Trade Group Inc. jumped 14.7 per cent in the dot-com boom of 1999. However, regular advertisers such as PepsiCo Inc. and Anheuser-Busch Cos., don't experience any Super Bowl bump.

Market watchers are skeptical though. One New York analyst who follows Coca-Cola Co. said he doesn't expect to see any meaningful movement in the stock even though the soft-drink giant is returning to the Super Bowl after an eight-year advertising hiatus. "It's not fundamentally driven," said the analyst, who spoke about the report on condition of anonymity. "I certainly wouldn't look at something like that."

The results this year are mixed. Coke's shares were flat in the two days after its announcement. However, Cadbury Schweppes, which bought ads for its Snapple drink brand this year, got a 1.5-per-cent bump during the same period after its campaign was unveiled. The shares have since climbed 6.2 per cent. First-time advertiser King Pharmaceuticals Inc., a manufacturer of blood-pressure drugs, gained 3.1 per cent over the first two days after the news, while Gamin Ltd., a maker of GPS equipment, rose 2.3 per cent.

A costly Super Bowl week fashion faux pas by Urlacher
Associated Press

CHICAGO — Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher was fined $100,000 by the NFL for wearing a cap during Super Bowl media day that promoted a sponsor not authorized by the league.
NFL rules prohibit gear that advertises any product but a designated sponsor, league spokesman Brian McCarthy said Wednesday.
Urlacher was fined for drinking vitaminwater and wearing a vitaminwater hat during the media session in Miami leading to the title game. Gatorade is the NFL's official drink.
McCarthy said this is the first time such a fine has been levied. He added that $100,000 is the standard fine for such a violation at the Super Bowl. A violation during the regular season is $10,000. It is $50,000 at the Pro Bowl.
The fine recalls an episode involving Chicago quarterback Jim McMahon in the playoffs following the 1985 season, the previous time the Bears made the Super Bowl.
McMahon wore a headband that said "adidas" in a playoff game against the New York Giants, and then-commissioner Pete Rozelle fined him $5,000 because the shoe company was not an NFL sponsor. The following week, in the NFC title game against the Los Angeles Rams, McMahon wore a headband that read "rozelle."