Super Bowl Ads Shaping Up to Be Most Boring Ever

(MoneyWatch)  With the $3 million cost of advertising in the Super Bowl looking like a total waste of money in the midst of the recession, the lineup for the 2009 big game is potentially shaping up to be the dullest on record. The commercials are traditionally in competition to be as interesting as the game, as agencies and clients pull out all the stops with big production numbers, hilarious sketches, and, occasionally, really offensive fare (that will at least get talked about).

But big-budget spots look frivolous in these economic times, so the creative challenge for agencies is to do something that really stands out without looking inappropriately cheery. One suspects that "patriotism" will be the solution for many brands, such as Budweiser -- it's safe, but dull.

A look at who's already in the game shows that the annoyance factor could be high:

• Weatherproof wants to buy a 30-second spot and then sell nine 10-second spots to other advertisers to produce a block of super-fast, drive-by advertising. A sure irritant.
• GoDaddy has a spot featuring race car driver Danica Patrick. Given GoDaddy's history, this ad will focus heavily on Patrick's breasts, etc., which will be fine if you're watching it with the guys. But not if your mom and dad are in the room.
• NBC is already gearing up to fill unbought spots with its own show promos. (ABC did the same thing in 2006.)
• There will be more of the pointless, dancing SoBe lizards, which didn't make sense last time around.
• Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com will both be advertising, to remind you that no matter who's winning the game, you're still unemployed.
• Pharmaceutical companies -- who produce some of the world's most-regulated, least exciting ads -- have promised to make buys.
• Fedex -- producer of some of the best and funniest ads in recent years -- is out, according to Broadcasting & Cable.

The main item of interest will be TBWA/Chiat/Day's first Super Bowl spot for Pepsi, an account it stole from BBDO recently. The agency had better pull something amazing out of the bag -- it is essentially launching a new Pepsi logo and can and has paid to block Coke out of the entire first half of the game. So far, post-BBDO Pepsi work has, er, been lulling consumers into a sense of security ...

The only other marketer to watch out for is, of course, Budweiser, which remains committed to this "beer holiday," and has a history of making both the best and worst commercials shown.