
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 15, 1993                   TAG: 9312150075
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: New York Daily News
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

THAT'S $30,000 PER SECOND AND GOING FAST

Advertisers are forking over a record $900,000 for a 30-second commercial that will appear during NBC-TV's Super Bowl broadcast next month. That's about $50,000 more than last year's price for 30 seconds on NBC's Super Sunday, media buyers said.

The network doesn't disclose ad rates, but a spokesman said it has sold more than 80 percent of its ad time for Super Sunday on Jan. 30.

The Super Bowl typically attracts the biggest audience of the year and is considered the premier showcase for television advertising.

Last year, 133.4 million U.S. viewers tuned into the game, meaning it reached 66 percent of all American homes, according to A.C. Neilsen, an audience measuring and rating service.

"It's a way to get large exposure . . . and it's an exciting forum for new commercials and new products," said Larry Widi, research director for Cramer-Krasselt, a Milwaukee ad agency that conducts an annual ad recall survey of Super Bowl advertising.

So big is Super Bowl advertising that many advertisers treat their ad plans as if they were matters of national security.

Pepsi-Cola Co. was mum about its plans. Chrysler, reportedly introducing its Neon car in Super Bowl commercials, couldn't be reached for comment.

But Anheuser-Busch said it's back in the game with Bud Bowl VI - a football contest between animated bottles of Bud, Bud Light and Bud Dry. Also back is Seven-Up, which will air three 30-second spots promoting the "uncola."

by CNB