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Big game draws Supercash
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January 22, 1997: 6:54 p.m. ET
Sponsors bank that viewers will watch entire broadcast, ads and all
From Correspondent Sean Callebs
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - When you think of past Super Bowl champions, names like the Dallas Cowboys, the San Francisco 49'ers and the New York Giants often come to mind.
But there have been other Super Bowl winners, as well, including Anheuser-Busch, Pepsi and Nike -- advertisers willing to shell out millions for a precious few seconds of air time.
This year, however, oddsmakers are predicting a lopsided match-up that could hurt advertisers.
Among the big guns laying it on the line include Visa, who is spending $1.2 million to air a 30-second spot starring former presidential hopeful Bob Dole.
Anheuser-Busch is the year's biggest spender, putting up nearly $10 million for eight 30-second spots.
Companies wanting the best time slots reportedly will pay the Fox network more than the going rate.
"Fox is not going to tell you this, but it is an open secret on Madison Avenue that they are charging a premium of $50,000 to $100,000 a spot to be in the first six minutes," said Porter Bibb, a media specialist at Ladenburg, Thalmann.
Many advertisers investing in the big game will sink at least 10 percent of their annual television ad budget on the single event.
Fox hopes to get 120 million viewers, but it makes no guarantees to advertisers on the size of the audience.
Fila is making its first foray into the Super Bowl and plans to run a commercial in the third quarter. (1.4MB QuickTime movie) But if the game is a blowout and people tune out, Fila could lose big.
One analyst says not to worry: "A lot of the audience will stay with the game because of the advertising … and the anticipation of the advertising," said Peter DePasquale, group management director at FCB New York.
Fox is banking on viewers sticking around after the game and is planning to air its popular "X-files."
In fact, the network expects such a large audience for the post-bowl "X-files" that it has boosted rates to nearly $600,000 for a 30-second spot. 
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