Ledger

Issue date: 1/31/08 Section: Husky Happenings

Maposaurus smash! GPS manufacturer Garmin aired this interesting ad during last year's Super Bowl.

Every year advertisers spend big bucks to have their advertisements played during the Super Bowl and the Marketing Society plans to host their own commercial viewing after this year's football event.

In admiration and celebration of the all-important Super Bowl ads, and other distinctive ads from around the world and within the last year, the University of Washington Tacoma Marketing Society will host their annual TV Commercial Viewing Event on Feb. 12 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. in the oUWTpost.

Scheduled shortly after this year's Super Bowl, everyone is invited to relive or discover the commercials that made you scratch your head in confusion, snort with disgust, or chuckle with mirth.

Crabs on the beach teaming up to steal a cooler of Budweisers. The one with the winking Dalmatian. There is another set in the jungle, with office job interviewees enduring wedgies, walking through hot coals, and being binder-clipped.

All of these strange scenarios represent totally mind-bogglingly expensive TV commercials that aired during 2007's Super Bowl.

"With $2 million-plus involved [per ad] and 35 million people watching, the marketing from Super Bowl ads clearly cover areas of purview in advertising and promotion," said Dr. Stern Neill, Milgard School of Business professor, and Marketing Society faculty adviser from 2001 to 2004.

Besides the commercials from this year's Super Bowl, other commercials collected by Wynter Weaver, vice president and event and speaker coordinator for the Marketing Society, will air at the Feb. 12 event.
"There will be voting on commercials in different categories like 'Most Humorous' and ones that use the 'sex sells' strategy-they do work," Weaver said.

Participants who enter their votes have chances to win prizes, and other opportunities to participate in commercial fun are possible.

During the commercial viewing, puzzling commercials will be played and then stopped before the logo or brand of the company is displayed in order to give the audience a chance to guess which product or company is being promoted.

Previous years' TV Commercial Viewing Events were well-attended. If you want to see the commercials before the Marketing Society's event, then catch Super Bowl XLII this Super Bowl Sunday at 3:30 p.m. on FOX.

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