Many watch big game for the commercials

“I only watch for the commercials,” is a comment many Iowans might make about tomorrow’s Superbowl. Even with native Iowan Kurt Warner seeking his second Superbowl win, many watching will be more interested in seeing the talking frogs and weasels, or cowboys herding cats during time outs. U-N-I communications professor Chris Martin says studies show about 10-percent of the estimated 130-million viewers tune in to see the commercials, not the football. He says due to the slow economy, some familiar faces may be missing from the commercial breaks.Martin says the slow economy has forced some companies to balk at shelling out the two-million dollars needed for a 30 second Super Sunday add. And he says some companies may save their ad money for the upcoming Olympics. Martin says investing big bucks in Superbowl commercials doesn’t pay off for every company. But, he says there are some notable successes.He says Budweiser found that advertising in the game increased beer sales in January, a month when sales normally slowed. Martin expects ads that do appear Sunday to be patriotic in light of the September 11th terrorist attacks.