Pregame With These Super Bowl Ready Stocks

Super Bowl XLVII is here. You may be rooting for the Ravens or the 49ers, John or Jim Harbaugh. Even if you have no idea who those people are or where those teams are from, chances are you are going to pay attention to the commercials.

For major US corporations, the occasion is a super investment. A 30 second spot now costs over $3.5 million according to Nielson. That doesn't include production costs which can be even greater. On the Monday after, stock prices reflect public reactions to these pricey ads. It makes sense: A viral Doritos commercial can generate future sales for the product.

The most commonly advertised products are cars, beer, movies, chips, and soft drinks.  It's a clear reflection of what works for target consumers.  Apparently credit card and cold medicine commercials are major flops while movie trailers are only particularly effective in entertaining us.

The line between entertainment and prudent marketing can be very fine.  A commercial can move us but can it get us to buy a Jeep? Critics argue that these ads are a poor allocation of capital but the benefit of brand awareness is difficult to quantify.

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Many companies are expected to reprise their strong marketing presence in years past. Anheuser-Busch (BUD) is a regular for the Budweiser brand. Pepsico (PEP) will return to follow up on the popularity of Doritos' Super Bowl spots.  The year the brand crowdsourced its big day with a contest called Crash the Super Bowl.

Tim Calkins at Kellogg's Super Bowl Review, which grades each year's ads, highlights two brands with big bowl stakes this year.