Future of Advertising: Ads That Stare Back and Interact

Feb. 6, 2010— -- For advertisers, the Super Bowl is still the biggest game of the year. But in today's marketplace, the buzz isn't surrounding the ads during the game, it's the advertisers opting to sit on the bench instead that have programmers shivering on the sidelines.

For the first time in more than 20 years, Pepsi will not advertise during the game.

"That was a real problem for the Super Bowl because they are one of the biggest advertisers," says Suzanne Vranica, advertising columnist for the Wall Street Journal. "The economy is wreaking havoc with a couple companies. And you've got a couple companies, big companies like FedEx and GM, who are long-time Super Bowl fanatics, that have pulled out because of the economy."

Instead of paying an estimated $2.5 million to $2.7 million per Super Bowl commercial, big brands are using social networking to connect with consumers -- hoping to click in a more personal way.

"Social networking is the newest thing for marketers," says Vranica. "You've got 60 ads fighting for attention, so if you use social networking as a marketer and drum up some excitement, you'll have people specifically watching out for your commercial that night."

Instead of buying pricey ad time, Pepsi is launching a reported $20 million digital campaign to support charity projects initiated by consumers. Not to be outdone, Pepsi rival Coca-Cola, which is running two Super Bowl commercials, will partner with Facebook to incorporate charity into their message.

"Every company out there has some kind of cause," says Vranica.

In addition to philanthropy, companies like Doritos and CareerBuilder.com are crowd sourcing their ads through social networking. All of this year's Super Bowl advertisers have Twitter pages, and Facebook users were tapped to create Vitamin Water's latest flavor and ad campaign.

Ads are beginning to get plastered everywhere.

"Ad clutter is a big problem, so advertisers are bending over backwards to find the most bizarre places to advertise," says Vranica.

Elevators, cars, garages, crosswalks and even breakfasts like Eggo waffles are getting branded.

Advertisers also are producing viral videos that seem to be captured by amateur photographers but surreptitiously advertise a product. RayBan, for example, released a video of a tattoo lover who appears to get a permanent pair of sunglasses tattooed on his face.