Feb 2, 2007 6:47 pm US/Central
Meet Creative Local Minds Behind Super Bowl Ads
by Vince Gerasole
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Kevin Federline pokes fun at himself in one much-talked-about Super Bowl ad.
CBS
Super Bowl Sunday is not just about the kick-off. It's also about the pitch – those multi-million dollar Super Bowl ads.
CBS 2's Vince Gerasole reports on the local talent behind those 30 second spots.
Even for the creative minds who dream up quirky and clever ads, the Super Bowl's a different ballgame.
"The pressure's on -- it's much harder and much more difficult," said creative director Mark Gross. "You're doing bigger spots, ones that will be a little more surprising, ones that are upbeat and tell a little bit of a story."
With 90 million people watching and the networks charging $2.6 million for just 30 seconds of airtime, advertisers know what their spots need to be.
"Smart enough and striking enough to get you to not go to the bathroom when there's a commercial break," said creative director Jeanie Caggiano.
Chicago's DDB Advertising dreams up the high-octane Anheuser-Busch ads that often earn kudos as the best of the Super Bowl bunch.
What's their inspiration?
"I know the stereotype is we sit in the office and throw footballs against the wall -- it's true," Gross said.
Working in teams of two, 30 of DDB's artists and writers came up with hundreds of ideas for the 10 spots that made it to this year's broadcast.
Recently, the Leo Burnett agency produced a thrilling car chase sequence for Allstate Insurance and the Sugar Bowl. In the ad, what begins as a one-dimensional story board eventually comes to life on the small screen, complete with a car crashing off Marina Towers.
"We had two cameras we had seven cameras trained on that car," Caggiano said of filming that ad. "We only had two chances for that car to come off the building."
The ads also need network approval. Last year's send up of roof top beer drinking was deemed too risky to broadcast, but the creative types keep on going to extremes to capture our attention.
Check out some of the commercials that have already been released:
Kevin Federline/NationwideAnheuser-BuschCoca-ColaThen on game day, send CBS 2 an e-mail on which ones tickled your funny bone. We'll share reactions with our viewers on our newscast just after the big game.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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