WRCB-TV Channel 3 sells 58 local Super Bowl spots for good start in financial year

Local advertisers will have 58 shots to grab your attention during Sunday’s big game.

Chattanooga’s NBC affiliate WRCB-TV Channel 3 sold all the 30-second slots it was given for Sunday. On Sunday afternoon and evening, it will be up to local advertisers to wow viewers, standing up against multimillion-dollar national commercials.

One client of local advertising company the Johnson Group started work on its Super Bowl ad in September. It’s great to have an opportunity to catch thousands of local eyes without spending the $3.5 million it costs to run a national ad. But with millions of additional dollars spent to produce Super Bowl blockbusters, creating a local ad that stands out can be a challenge.

“If you’re working with a much smaller budget, which we are in this case, you have to keep the execution simple, but that does not mean the idea won’t be good,” said Joe Johnson, head of the Johnson Group. “There can be some very good ideas that aren’t outrageously expensive.”

Johnson wouldn’t reveal the advertiser — most play their ads close to the vest hoping to surprise audiences. But he’s confident his ad will catch local viewers’ attention.

Super Bowl-related programming kicks off at noon Sunday. From then until the post-game show, WRCB was allotted a total of 65 slots from NBC, almost all of which will run during the pre-game show, the game itself or immediately following the game.

For WRCB, that advertising all but guarantees a good start to the year.

“This is a great event for the affiliates because this is premium advertising,” said Tom Tolar, the station’s general manager. “We’re certainly glad to have it.”