Madonna Performing at Super Bowl Half-Time Show….Timeout

Photo Credit: http://musicblog.vh1.com

“Ewwww! Really?”

That’s the reaction people get when they hear that Madonna will be performing at Super Bowl XLVI half-time show with other musical guests M.I.A, Cee Lo Green, Nicki Minaj and LMFAO combined with a performance by Cirque du Soleil.

                Together these artists cover a variety of music tastes. However, is this variety even appealing to viewers?

                It’s like the idea of mixing all of your favorite candy into one bowl. The idea sounds great but the result is not as sweet.

                Last year approximately 111 million people watched the Super Bowl. However, are the advertisers of Super Bowl telecasts reaching their target audience with the half-time show?

According to Sports Business Daily, the highest percent of people that watched the Super Bowl for the half-time show was the age group of 55 and up.

If advertiser’s desired audiences are not being reached, then why do they continue to pour so much money and time into this event?

The wardrobe malfunction with Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake added a little life to the half-time show in 2004.

After this “malfunction” (which is still debatable if intended or not) half-time shows have become more focused on “wardrobe security” and having a full lineup and instead are just becoming a mess.

                The acts that have been performing at the Super Bowl the past eight years are the networks attempts to get viewers interested in the show by combining an older music artist or legend with a newer musical artist.

The performer collaborations don’t mix well together and new performers just lack the experience needed to perform at such a big event.

                Black Eyed Peas and Slash, Prince and Flo-Rida are some of the collaborations that just don’t make the cut.

                Madonna, 53, is a music legend. This queen of music has been performing since 1979. Madonna opened the door for individuality in music and created a pathway for female performers. However, only so many comebacks and reinventing of one’s self can be done before all their acts seem to be the same. 

Performers at half-time shows fail to represent the demographic that advertiser’s want.

M.I.A, the British singer, song-writer has been releasing songs since 2000 that have an ethnic edge that separates her from other artists. Songs like “Paper Planes” have given M.I.A her name and have been seen on movie soundtracks like “Slumdog Millionaire,” which contained three of her tracks. M.I.A’s genre has been classified as alternative dance and electronic.

Now how do you combine the genre of pop, rock and combine it with electronic, dance?

Today, collaborations and mash-ups of two different artists have become more popular. However, in a live performance, there is hopefully no auto tune, no editing and no mixing of low bass, beats and cross-overs. How is the performance expected to come out sounding like one smooth song and not like oil and water mixed into one bowl only to separate into a mess of a song making the stage slippery and hard to stand.

Now reconsider the half-time show, add four other acts to the Madonna equation. This Super Bowl show will look like a circus even without Cirque du Soleil.

People watch the Super Bowl for the football, the quality time with friends and commercials. The half-time show has merely the perfect opportunity for a bathroom break or grabbing your favorite snack from the refrigerator.

                Now consider this: It is reported that in 2011 advertisers paid up to $3 million for a 30-second- commercial spot during the Super Bowl. Other companies like Chrysler, paid up to $12 million for a 2-minute-commercial slot.

Doesn’t this leave a bad position for advertisers? The half-time show viewer ratings from age 18 to 55 and over is a high of 7 percent out of the 111 million people watching the Super Bowl.

If this is the time when people get up to stretch their legs and get more pizza it is likely that an advertisers commercial will be missed and their millions of dollars paid will be wasted.

With 44 percent of people watching the Super Bowl solely for commercials, there is already a higher viewer rating than the half-time show itself.

Perhaps the networks should make the half-time show visible for only those attending the Super Bowl and allowed the viewers at home to continue to watch commercials during the 15-minute break.  Then again, if this were to happen when would we all get our bathroom break?

(Super Bowl XLVI will premiere Sunday, February 5, 2012, at 6:30 p.m. at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana while the NY Giants take on the New England Patriots.)