With a very brief statement, General Motors, America’s biggest automaker in terms of sales and third largest advertiser overall in the U.S., has announced that it will not buy any ads in the next Super Bowl in 2013.
“We understand the reach the Super Bowl provides, but with the significant increase in price, we simply can’t justify the expense,” said General Motors Global Chief Marketing Officer Joel Ewanick.
The news comes only a few days after the Detroit-based carmaker revealed that it would ditch its FaceBook paid ads, raining on the social networks IPO parade. However, GM will continue to spend millions of dollars to create and upkeep its free web pages on FaceBook.
So, what is going on with GM; is the automaker reducing its ad budget? According to the Wall Street Journal, the answer is no as GM spokesman Pat Morrissey told the business daily that auto maker isn’t reducing its ad budget but simply trying to maximize its efficiency.
A 30-second commercial during this year’s Super Bowl cost $3.5 million, while Autonews reported that Les Moonves, CBS’s chief executive, recently suggested the 2013 broadcast of the game should command $4 million. That’s compared to $2.2 million for a thirty second spot in 2001.
“Our overall spend will remain flat compared to last year,” GM spokesman Tom E Henderson told Autonews. “As we’ve said all along, we’re continually reevaluating our spending and will maintain a strong presence in all mediums.”
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