Qualcomm will run three ads for its FLO TV mobile television service on CBS before and during the Super Bowl on Feb. 7.
Ironically, however, FLO TV customers will not be able to view the Big Game on the CBS Mobile channel, as the service doesn’t have mobile rights from the NFL. (The game won’t be available through any wireless carrier, not even Sprint, the official wireless services sponsor of the NFL.) A FLO TV spokeswoman notes that the company’s Super Bowl ads will be running on avails across different channels on the service.
Even so, FLO TV “sees this as a great launching point to cross into mainstream consumer awareness and help promote the overall concept of mobile TV,” according to the spokeswoman.
People have high expectations for Super Spots: Most viewers (51%) say they tune in to the Super Bowl to watch the commercials rather than the actual pigskin contest, a Nielsen survey found. This year, CBS is looking for between $2.5 million and $2.9 million per 30-second spot.
Hulu ran a spot in last year’s Super Bowl featuring Alec Baldwin as a brain-sucking alien overlord. The site’s traffic spiked 59% the next day, according to Nielsen. (See Super Bowl Revelation: Hulu Was Created by Aliens That Want to Eat Your Brain.)
The FLO TV ads will include appearances by CBS Sports commentators Jim Nantz and James Brown, and a remix of The Who’s “My Generation” by Black Eyed Peas front man will.i.am. Note that The Who are playing the halftime show — see Who Dat Playing At Super Bowl XLIV?
The first FLO TV ad, “Injury Report,” to air in the first quarter, features Nantz and a guy who accompanies his girlfriend on an endless shopping spree (see screengrab, below). The spot shows how he can use the FLO TV Personal Television to watch the game he’s missing… um, unless that happens to be the Super Bowl.
A second ad, “Moments” includes will.i.am’s rendition of “My Generation,” and is supposed to celebrate “the shared experiences that unite us as a nation… and, specifically, how people today interact with television programming.” According to Qualcomm, the new track will be available as an iTunes download after the ad airs with proceeds benefiting Haiti relief efforts.
Prior to the game FLO TV is airing a spot, “Long Drive,” in which CBS Sports’ James Brown brings peace to a family on a cart trip by introducing them to the FLO TV auto entertainment service. (For more on in-car TV, see this week’s cover story, TV Behind the Wheel.)
The FLO TV ads were produced in a collaboration of two agencies: Magner Sanborn and Agency 3.0.
