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MrNathanDrake on 11 September 2009
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I found an actual article on this topic


http://www.gamenewser.net/?p=51

NFL Kickoff: Game Ad Breakdown
Posted by darkpower On September - 10 - 2009

nflIt’s now over (in case your wondering, the Steelers won against the Titans in OT 13-10), and people will either be happy or disappointed (or complaining about NFL’s OT rules).

What you were probably NOT watching were the commercials. And there were a few gaming commercials during NBC’s broadcast of the game. There were eight ads, and only one had anything to do with the Playstation 3 or Sony.

In fact, the rest (besides one) were from EA, and with the 360 tags and an additional plug for the 360 Elite price cut. Only one did not have a tag to it.

The breakdown:

- Two commercials on the NFL Kickoff Pregame Show that aired on NBC prior to the game (both for Madden 10). One had the usual 360 “system startup” tag, while the other had the Elite price cut advert.
- Two more commercials for Madden 10 (the identical ones that were shown on the Kickoff Special) during the game (when most people would be watching). Each 360 tag showed up on the end.
- One ad by EA for the new Need For Speed game (close to halftime). This NFS game was also shown on the “brought to you by” bumpers when returning from a commercial. On the commercial, another 360 tag.
- Harmonix advertised the 360 version of The Beatles: Rock Band during the 3rd quarter.
- The lone PS3 ad came from Sony themselves: The “Rumor Department” commercial advertising the PS3’s new price point of $299.
- The last ad was for Guitar Hero 5 by Activision. This did not have any tag on the end (we were expecting it to have a 360 tag due to the entire situation about Bobby Kotick’s comments about Sony a few months ago).

The Harmonix ad was to be expected to show the 360 version of Rock Band due to Harmonix continuing to show how much they like Microsoft helping them (though we don’t know why they didn’t give the PS3 it’s own way to support Doctors Without Borders. We think it’s a cheesy move to make supporting charities exclusive to one system, as well).

Though there was only one Sony ad, it was at a pivotal place (at the start of the first commercial break of the 1st quarter). That’s when a lot of people will have been watching. Good move on Sony’s part to be able to get that position (intentional or not).

However, the biggest surprise, given their newfound fanboyism towards Sony and the PS3, was the 360 tags on the EA Games ads. We don’t know if this is just an oversight, EA being fair, Microsoft making sure people know that the games are multiplatform, just a chance time, or if there is something more to the story, but we expected at least some EA with Sony ads to appear at some point in the kickoff or during the game. We don’t know who to blame here, or if we should blame anyone (it IS good that both systems were represented. We don’t want people to think that we wouldn’t call anyone out if they had no 360 ads in there). The over assertive way the NFL enforces their rules (just ask Michael Vick) just adds fuel to THAT fire.

The “something more to the story” part, by the way, in case your wondering, is if there was some anger from EA to Sony in regards to a rumor that EA was somehow keeping Sony from delivering on true custom soundtracks and cross game chat (to which both side rigorously denied). We highly doubt it (probably just Microsoft being…well, Microsoft), but it never hurts to leave that possibility open.

If we missed an ad somewhere, let us know. Also, the regular season is now underway, and if you are watching any major event and want to contribute some ad breakdowns to us, click on the “contribute” link at the top of the page and follow the instructions.