GM SHIFTS AD DOLLARS AWAY FROM SUPER BOWL

Four million dollars for a 30-second ad on CBS’s Super Bowl telecast in 2013 simply can’t be justified, General Motors said in a statement over the weekend, indicating that it will spend its ad dollars elsewhere. (But not on Facebook, from which it also withdrew its advertising last week.) The company also sat out the Super Bowl in 2009, the same year it filed for bankruptcy protection. Analysts observed at the time that other advertisers quickly grabbed up the spot availabilities, and in an interview with Reuters, Horizon Media analyst Brad Adgate remarked that CBS should have no difficulty finding a replacement for GM next year as well. “It’s an opportunity for others” Adgate said. “I would venture a guess that someone would pick up the slack.” According to Kantar Media, GM spent $21 million for ads during this year’s Super Bowl, which set a new record as the most-watched telecast in history with more than 111 million viewers.