Super Excess: What is Your Time Worth?

How much is 30 seconds worth? If it’s this year’s Super Bowl and you are a commercial vying for the attention of every viewer who isn’t in the bathroom or the kitchen, that 30 seconds is worth $5 million. Five. Million. Dollars.

I love watching Super Bowl commercials as much as anyone, especially anyone whose business is marketing and branding. In the four-whatever-hours it takes for New England to win the game (just going with the odds, folks, not my personal preference), we’ll likely laugh out loud (think Doritos and babies), cringe in disgust (remember the two guys eating a Snickers bar from each end?), and maybe even shed a tear (anything Budweiser and dogs) as the 30-second spots move our needles one way or another.

But at $5 million a pop? I’m not even going to ask how many homeless veterans that could feed, or how many refugees it could sponsor. I will question how the return could possibly match the enormous investment. Especially if you consider $5 million is not the final price tag. Mary Scott, president at UEG, a sports and entertainment marketing agency, told The New York Times that she recommends clients spend an amount “equal to at least 25 percent of the cost on promotions relating to their Super Bowl ad.” Meaning, she recommends companies pay at least 25 percent of the cost of the ad to promote the ad. “Even though the spots have incredible viewership – as much as the game itself – you never know,” Ms. Scott said.

Yeah, Ms. Scott, I think we kinda do.

Come Monday, people at work are going to talk about their favorite ads, and there will be the obligatory news pieces on what hit the mark and what didn’t, providing a little extra free press for the between-game winners and losers. And by Tuesday, we’ll all go back to buying chips and beer and insurance and everything else we see on Sunday evening, with or without a clever video reminder.

So, any other day of the year, is 30 seconds of my time worth $5 million?

I wish.