Big Three Labels Break Records For Super Bowl Ad Synchs

This year's NFL Super Bowl will undoubtedly stand the test of time as one of the most spectacular American football finals in living memory, if not for Katy Perry's stellar halftime show (and the trials and tribulations of Left Shark) then for the fact that Super Bowl XLIV brought new highs for advertising synchs from three major industry players: Sony/ATV, Warner/Chappell and Universal Music Publishing.

In a year that saw the average cost of securing a 30-second ad spot during the coveted Super Bowl airtime rise to $US4.5 million, the returns trickling back to the music industry have risen in kind, with Sony/ATV netting itself 12 synchs during the main telecast, Warner/Chappell 14, and Universal securing 20 over its in-game and pre-game spots.

As Billboard reports, the actual number of synchs — if you've ever heard your favourite indie band's lead single draped over an ad to shill Toyotas or whatever, that's a synch — booked by Sony this year was less than in 2014 (only by two), but the overall value was up on last year. Sony's executive vice-president worldwide head of advertising, film and TV, Brian Monaco, attributes the boost to deals with advertisers such as Ecuador Tourism, which used a re-recording of The Beatles' All You Need Is Love; American Family Insurance, whose ad featured a cover of The Five Stairsteps' O-o-h Child by Jennifer Hudson; and a new recording of Woody Guthrie's This Land Is Your Land for a Jeep ad, created by in-house writer Marc Cibilia.

Warner, amid its several synchs (seven of which used recorded masters), made the lucrative (if possibly misguided) decision to lease out Harry Chapin's Cat's In The Cradle to Nissan, a move that drew criticism from several commentators who deemed the choice tasteless after pointing out that Chapin was, in fact, killed in a car crash. Regardless, executive vice-president of synchronisation Ron Broitman asserts the 2015 result is a positive one.

"We continue to see the impact of powerful songs on advertising, which makes for a vibrant and competitive marketplace," he told Billboard. "Warner Music Group saw one of its best Super Bowls from a licensing standpoint this year, which is a testament to strong relationships, great creative execution and the privilege of working with amazing music."