#CommercialBowlSunday

It's every sports fan's favorite day of the year: Super Bowl Sunday. Even if you don't watch football games every week, like my brothers do, this special sunday is still an event that even non-football fans enjoy. Whether it's the half-time show, the puppy bowl, or the actual game itself, there is one thing that almost everyone loves--the commercials. While the majority of television viewers would complain about commercials interrupting their favorite shows every other day of the year, viewers can't wait to watch them today. And why is that? Maybe because commercials are priced at the low cost of $4.5 million dollars per 30 seconds. 

$4.5 million dollars per 30 seconds of an advertisement equals $150,000 per second of airtime. That's much more than the average salary one makes per year. Granted, these are huge industries that are airing these commercials, but that is still a lot of money for one ad. Why do companies pay this much for such a little amount of time? Easy answer: the viewers. Over 100 million Americans tune in to watch the game, and without fast forward options available while watching live, viewers are forced to watch. 

With lots of money comes lots of power for these advertisers. How they chose to use their airtime, however, is disappointing. We all know the types of commercials that will be on this year: the cute kids and animals, the partying, the cameos from famous actors, and of course the sexual ones. Women are used to sell products in media constantly, as we see on television everyday, and the commercials during the super bowl are no exception. In fact, numerous commercials get banned before they even air! Companies spend huge amounts of money making these elaborate and inappropriate ads, pushing the limits, yet the commercials don't even make it because they are "too sexual". So, some advertisers go the different role, the opposite role for women: the wife. We see them in the kitchen, cooking or cleaning, getting ready for their husband's football party. In an SNL clip recently aired, they spoof on these types of commercials. 

This clip obviously takes it to a new level, but I still think it is relevant to commercials we see today. It startles me how even in 2015 we still have commercials where women are either being used as sexual objects or house keepers. Will we ever find a new role for women in commercials?