On Superbowl Sunday the only event more spectacular than football is the slew of million dollar ads on TV. You’ve heard the stories about massive expenditures for a few precious seconds of airtime, but how much do you really know about the advertising dollar?

Every year, Advertising Age magazine explores the cumulative spending of the advertising and marketing business. The 2003-2004 results -- posed as questions in this quiz -- will almost certainly astound you.

1) Big Bucks

 

The top 25 U.S. advertisers spent how much money advertising domestically?

$100 million

$5 billion

$25 billion

$45 billion

2) Big Spenders

 

Of the top 25 ad spenders, who spent the most in the U.S.?

General Motors

Microsoft

Walt Disney

McDonald’s

3) Get the word out

 

U.S. advertisers spent the most money on which medium?

Direct mail

Newspaper

TV (Broadcast and cable)

Internet

4) Signs of the times

Which corporation spent the most on outdoor signs and advertising in 2003?

McDonald’s

Anheuser-Busch

Nissan

United Airlines

5) Televisión española

What soft drink company spent the most money on Spanish-language network television?

Coca-Cola

Pepsi

Dr Pepper/Seven Up

Royal Crown

6) Feeding Frenzy

The following fast food restaurants all have relatively the same market share (about 5% of the total fast food market). Three of the four spend over $200 million a year in advertising. Which one spends less?

Subway

Taco Bell

Pizza Hut

KFC

7) What stinks?

Old Spice has long been the leader in ad spending for men’s deodorant. Some newcomers, however, have been making a new stink in the market. Which similar product came in second for overall promotional spending in 2003?

Degree

Axe

Ultramax

Freshpits

8) The truth about advertising

Spending the most money on advertising doesn’t necessarily make you a market leader. Often reputation or word of mouth will do better than any magazine ad or web page banner. The market leader for flat panel TVs spent less on advertising than four of the five next-best manufacturers. Who is it?

Panasonic

Hitachi

Sharp

Sony

9) Thirty seconds of fame

Advertisers pay big money for commercials during popular reality shows. Which 2004 reality show had the biggest average price tag for a 30-second spot?

American Idol

Survivor

Fear Factor

The Bachelor/Bachelorette

10) People reading People

People Magazine boasts the highest gross revenue (a combination of circulation and ad revenue) of any magazine. The number one magazine has fewer subscribers than most of the top competition, however. Three of the following have more subscribers than People. Which one does NOT?

TV Guide

Reader’s Digest

Sports Illustrated

Better Homes & Gardens

11) Old friends are best

 

The TV show Friends has been off the air for a few years now, but lives on in syndication. These reruns still bring in big advertising dollars. How much did syndicated episodes of Friends earn in 2003?

$100 million

$225 million

$560 million

$1 billion

12) Superbudget

 

At last, the question you’ve been waiting for. In 2005, advertisers paid on average $2.4 million for each 30-second ad run during the Superbowl. In 1967, for the very first Superbowl, what was the cost of a similar ad?

$99,000

$54,000

$42,000

$12,500