Tag Archives: super bowl

Super Bowl by the Numbers (2015)

superbowlconsumeAs I say every year, it’s fun to see which companies have paid the NFL millions of dollars to be allowed to use the words “Super” and “Bowl” next to each other, and which ones have to settle for “the big game” in their TV commercials!

Anyhoozle, who ya got? Seahawks or Patriots? As a perpetually disappointed Cincinnati fan, I don’t have any skin in the game. But it’s still fun. I don’t do the whole party preparations thing (that would require having friends) but a LOT of people do. And they spend a LOT of money!

Here, courtesy of the National Retail Federation, is your “Super Bowl 2015 by the Numbers!”

  • 184 million: number of US television viewers
  • $14.3 billion: total spending for food, party supplies, team wear, etc. (oh, and BEER.)
  • $77.88: the average spent per person
  • 9%: people who will buy a new TV for “the big game”
  • 43 million: will host a Super Bowl party
  • 13 million: will watch at a bar

Interesting, the press release is full of the “renewed consumer confidence” angle, and that is how they are basing their predictions. We shall see…

So what are your plans for Super Bowl? Having friends over? How much will you spend on snacks (and BEER!)? Let us know over at the MindField Online Facebook page, and have a great Super Bowl weekend!

Super Bowl Economics 2014

BTW, I love it when companies who haven't paid millions of $$ to the NFL have to call it "The Big Game" in their commercials!
BTW, I love it when companies who haven’t paid millions of $$ to the NFL have to call it “The Big Game” in their commercials!

This Sunday, in bars, basements, living rooms and even churches (like mine – complete with chili contest and a 102” screen!) we will gather. And whether we are interested in X’s and O’s, team rivalries, funny commercials or simply drinking a buttload of beer, we are all a part of something – the biggest night of consumerism in the U S of A!

An now, according to Business Journal and Convenience Store News, here are the stats for Super Bowl 2014!

  • Over 180 million of us will watch the game.
  • 55% will watch at home, 17% at a bar or restaurant or at a party.
  • 60% will watch on TV (as the Lord intended), 15% on a smartphone, 14 on a PC, and 11 on a tablet.
  • 77% will buy food and beverages. Top choices include pizza (3rd fave), wings (4th), veggie trays (9th). Only 8% of us plan to eat healthy.
  • Get yo’ drank on: 53% will drink beer and 51% will drink soda. That’s a switch from last year, when it was 71 soda and 42 beer.
  • Party Planning! 39 million will throw a party, 62 million will attend one. Hosts will spend around $100 on supplies.
  • Why are we watching? 48% say “the Game!” 25% say “the Ads!” 17% said “just hanging with friends!”
  • What ads do we like best? 1. Funny, 2.Sentimental, 3. Product features, 4. Ones we saw last year, 5. Price comparisons. And in a sign of the times, 53% of us will comment on the ads real-time on social media.

Trends this year? If you look at the notes, you see the creeping, insidious rise of healthy snacks and no beer has been halted in the nick of time. Otherwise, slight improvements in consumer confidence (because we are all fooling ourselves) mean that we are spending more on food and fun.

Anyway, it’s time to celebrate, friends. I can’t think of a more American event than Super Bowl Sunday. Whichever team you support, have a blast!

Super Bowl Predix: WHO YA GOT!? Let us know over at the MindField Online Facebook page!

(photo credit: employmentandthelaw.com)

The Best and Worst Super Bowl Ads of 2013

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(credit: employmentandthelaw.com)

My Super Bowl viewing habits have changed over the years. First off, I am not the biggest Super Bowl fan. That old adage that there is about 12 minutes of play in a 4-hour presentation is the reason why. But the commercials used to help. Then, it got to the point where I would tape the game and then play it back and watch only the commercials. THEN, it became reading the Web the next day to hear about the Best ‘n’ Worst, and then looking them up online.

Progress is exhausting, yo!

Now, there’s a website where you can watch the ads BEFORE the game. It gives smarty-pants armchair critics (ahem!) the chance to form opinions early and lord them over their friends.

So check out website. And leave a note in the comments or over at the MindFieldOnline Facebook page.  Likes? Hates? Surprises? Any “Little Darth Vaders” in this year’s bunch?

Have a great weekend, and enjoy the game commercials!

Super Bowl Economics!

BTW, I love it when companies who haven't paid millions of $$ to the NFL have to call it "The Big Game" in their commercials!
BTW, I love it when companies who haven’t paid millions of dollars to the NFL have to call it “The Big Game” in their commercials!

Quick quiz! Who are the two teams competing in the Super Bowl this Sunday? The answer is “Who cares?” This annual tradition is bigger than San Francisco. It’s bigger than Baltimore. It’s bigger than ALL of us!

In bars, basements, living rooms and even churches (like mine – complete with chili contest and a 102” screen!) we will gather. And whether we are interested in X’s and O’s, team rivalries, funny commercials or simply drinking a buttload of beer, we are all a part of something – the biggest night of consumerism in the U S of A!

  • 180 million of us will watch the game
  • We will spend $12 Billion on snacks
  • We will eat 79 million pounds of guacamole!

To put it in graphic terms, 79 million pounds of avocados is enough to cover a football field – end zone to end zone – 30 feet deep. The San Diego Source (to quote 30 Rock’s Liz Lemon: “I want to go to there!”)

  • We will eat 1.23 billion chicken wings
  • Papa John’s drivers will travel 300,000 miles
  • Domino’s will deliver roughly double the number of pizzas for a typical Sunday

As to whom I am rooting for (as you’re DYING to know,) I am torn. San Fran beat my Cincinnati Bengals in 2 Super Bowls. Baltimore is both a constant thorn in Cincy’s side and the remnant of the old, pre-expansion Cleveland Browns. As they said during the Iran-Iraq War, it’s a shame they can’t BOTH lose!

Also, what terrible TV show will debut right after the game?  That weird, modern Sherlock Holmes thing with Lucy Liu! “Elementary, my dear Watson – the British version is better!”

Either way, let’s celebrate, friends. I can’t think of a more American event than Super Bowl Sunday. Whichever team you support, have a blast!

(photo credit: employmentandthelaw.com)