Motor City Super Bowl XL Telecast Delivers Nearly

$49 Million of In-Broadcast Exposure to Auto Makers

         ANN ARBOR, MI, February 6, 2006 – The Super Bowl spotlight shined brightly on automobile companies Sunday night during ABC’s telecast from Detroit, as Ford, General Motors and Toyota combined for $48.9 million of in-broadcast exposure value.

         According to research conducted by Joyce Julius and Associates, which specializes in measuring the impact of sponsorships across all forms of media, GM and its Cadillac Escalade brand owned the night with three minutes, 10 seconds (3:10) of clear in-focus exposure time to go along with 21 announcer mentions.  When comparing the exposure to the cost of a typical commercial on ABC’s broadcast, a value of more than $33.3 million was realized. 

         Graphics pertaining to Cadillac’s sponsorship of the post-game show and the game’s MVP award led the automaker with a contribution of 1:19 and nearly $6.6 million.  Images of the Escalade presented to the Steelers’ Hines Ward following his MVP performance and identity on the ABC set were also major factors in Cadillac’s brand dominance.

         As entitlement sponsor of the hosting stadium in Detroit, Ford’s identity appeared for 1:44 throughout the broadcast, while the hometown automaker was also mentioned by the ABC announcing crew a half-dozen times.  Altogether, the exposure topped $13.6 million when compared to a typical Super Bowl commercial spot.

         Signs within Ford Field accounted for the bulk of the auto company’s exposure, gathering 1:23 of on-screen time during the 4.5-hour telecast.  Ford’s total, while significantly less than its rival GM, well surpassed last year’s Super Bowl stadium entitlement sponsor Alltel, which collected just 0:26 and $2.1 million during the Fox broadcast of Super Bowl XXXIX from Jacksonville.

         Toyota also made a brief but significant appearance during ABC’s Detroit broadcast, securing $2 million via a “Brought To You By” promotional segment that ran in the first half of the game.

         The Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Joyce Julius and Associates — which monitors more than 2,500 nationally televised sports and special event programs annually — has been measuring the impact of corporate sponsorships since 1985.