November 3, 2009: It may not signal the return of the infamous Dot.com Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000, when 17 Internet companies paid more than $2 million for each 30-second spot. But the presence of online retailers is growing for Super Bowl XLIV with the addition of Cars.com, which said it would launch its 2010 marketing campaign during the big game. This will be the third consecutive Super Bowl buy for the online automotive destination.Cars.com did not reveal creative, but said it would continue its 'Confidence' campaign with a 60-second spot during the first half of the game on CBS on February 7, 2010. Lead agency is DDB, Chicago.
Cars.com joins Internet companies GoDaddy, CareerBuilder and Monster.com. Others confirmed for Super Bowl XLIV include Anheuser-Busch, Bridgestone, Coca-Cola, Hyundai Motor, PepsiCo's Frito-Lay and Pepsi-Cola units and first-time Super Bowl advertiser HomeAway. Analysts put the upcoming Super Bowl rates at between $2.5-$3 million for each 30-second spot.
"Super Bowl is the largest stage in advertising and a proven brand-builder for Cars.com," Mitch Golub, president of Cars.com, said in a statement. "Our presence in each of the past two years has paid off, exposing our brand to record audiences and building awareness of the site and service we offer to car shoppers. It is a smart investment that supports our strategy, and works to grow our business and that of our customers."
Cars.com TV spot from Super Bowl XLIII.Cars.com said new creative would build on last year's popular "Lifetime of Confidence" ad, in which a man named David Abernathy has the confidence to do everything but buy a car until he finds Cars.com. Two years ago, Cars. com's creative included "Shrunken Head" and "Stone Circle," in which people threaten to resort to unusual "Plan B's" to buy a car."As car buyers return to market in 2010, we want them to know Cars.com provides the tools, credible information and advice to help them make confident new and used-car purchase decisions," Carolyn Crafts, Cars.com's vp-marketing, said in a statement. "Advertising on the Super Bowl gives us the opportunity to get that message out in a big way at the start of the year."
Launched in June 1998, Cars.com is a division of Classified Ventures, LLC, which is owned such media companies as Gannett, the Tribune Company and The Washington Post Co. ]]>