Super Bowl in the Toilet Bowl?

Is it just me, or is the pre-Super Bowl hype practically non-existent this year? When trying to convince me that Yankees half-season tickets were a sound investment, Brian made the argument that sports (or at least the Yankees) were recession proof. Obviously not. I can count on one finger the number of commercials I've seen leading up to the event - one promo for the Thursday night pre-game shows featuring Rihanna and Jerry O'Connell. Not exactly A-listers...nor are the teams in the game. One of my coworkers asked another who was playing and for a second I couldn't even recall. "Oh yeah," was our response - not caring one way or the other about anything except the commercials.

Unfortunately, all signs point to those being a disappointment as well. Like many businesses, both advertising and TV ad sales are suffering in light of the global economic crisis (hence the onslaught of infomercials these days - perhaps the topic of another blog post altogether). Just 4 days before the big game, there are still reportedly 4 commercial openings. Please tell me they won't be filled by BigDaddy.com. Who even knows what BigDaddy.com is other than a consistent source of revenue for the networks during the Super Bowl. It looks like those revenues are dipping as well. According to Bloomberg, most ads sold for less than $3 million. Though that figure still seems outlandish to us common folk, it's disappointing to network execs in troubling times.

Most of our friends don't even seem excited about celebrating the SB this year. We've either juggled parties or have turned some down the past several years, but it seems most of them are having more low-key get-togethers, or are just watching it from the comfort of their own homes this year.

Perhaps the SB 43 is just adhering to the old PR mantra: under promise and over deliver. Whether the game itself and all the commercials are lackluster or blockbuster, at least we'll have the seven-layer Mexican dip.