Tammy Scott-Wallace, minister of tourism, heritage, and culture for New Brunswick, said residents should feel “incredibly proud” after the province invested $186,000 on a Super Bowl ad during Sunday night’s broadcast.
The ad deal came with a 30-second spot on both the English and French broadcasts of the game, a place in a cooking show and a commercial during the Montreal Canadiens game on Saturday afternoon.
The minister said the price tag came thanks to an investment in the broadcast of the World Junior Championships just over a month prior. She said that during that time, the province dumped nearly a million dollars into the broadcast.
“We’ve never advertised in the Super Bowl before,” said Scott-Wallace in an interview Monday.
“$186,000 was absolutely money well spent for the people of New Brunswick and the tourism operators.”
The ad, titled “Always inviting,” invites tourists to the province by stating, “Our home is your home.” Scott-Wallace said it was too early to tell what potential growth or tourism boosts the province could see from the ad, but said that she has already heard lots of buzzing about the ad.
Experts believe that the time could be right for the ad, saying that the Super Bowl is an event that could capture the minds of those who may not conventionally watch TV.
Moshe Lander with the Concordia Department of Economics told Global News that scoring the ads on TV could create a buzz for New Brunswick, adding that even if a small percentage of viewers gave New Brunswick a thought, it could open the doors to future revenues with tourism.
“The Super Bowl is one of those events where people of all ages, all classes, all genders are all watching for a variety of reasons,” told Lander from Montreal.
“If you’re not paying a lot and you’re getting a lot of eyeballs on it, it’s great spending.”
He said in an age of marketing shifting to social media and other non-traditional ways of engagement, live sports have tested time with advertising.
“In a lot of cases, people will see the ad and Google New Brunswick. Where can we fly to? Is it connected with Air Canada or WestJet?
“All they need is one ad to get people looking and talking.”