News & Events

Fifth annual Kellogg Super Bowl Advertising Review

Professors Tim Calkins and Derek Rucker to Lead Event


12/23/2008 - As pressure builds for Super Bowl advertisers to highlight their creative strength, the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, the world’s No. 1 business school for marketing, will spearhead the annual Kellogg School Super Bowl Advertising Review. For the fifth consecutive year, marketing faculty and members of the Kellogg Marketing Club will convene in Evanston, Ill., on Sunday, February 1, 2009, to watch the event, rate the advertisers on a series of predetermined criteria and produce a final ranking of the most – and least – successful advertisers from this year’s Super Bowl.

The Kellogg School Super Bowl Advertising Review is the only review that utilizes academic criteria to rank the ads. Unlike other reviews that judge ads by their popularity, it evaluates an advertisement on key factors that can help drive sales and favorably impact the company’s bottom line and brand awareness.

Kellogg marketing department Professors Tim Calkins and Derek Rucker will lead the 2009 Kellogg School Super Bowl Advertising Review, serving as non-biased resources to address the many pressing topics surrounding Super Bowl advertising this year.

  • What qualities are essential to a strong Super Bowl ad?
  • What can viewers expect to see different from previous years in Super Bowl XLIII advertising?
  • Given the downturn in the economy, is there still significant value in Super Bowl advertising spots, especially when consumers are spending less?
  • How has the role of the Super Bowl ad evolved?
  • How can Super Bowl advertisers leverage the increased interest in social media/social networking to increase buzz for their ad beyond game day?
This year, a blog, moderated by Professors Calkins and Rucker, will post timely entries highlighting this year’s advertising trends. Visit the blog at: http://kelloggsuperbowlreview.wordpress.com/

Questions and interview requests surrounding the 2009 Kellogg School Super Bowl Advertising Review can be directed to Aaron Mays at a-mays@kellogg.northwestern.edu or 847.491.2112.