Super Bowl Sunday is upon us, and everyone, football fans and non-football fans alike, is looking forward to it.
Why do non-football fans look forward to this game?
Two simple reasons: the commercials and the halftime show.
Once that clock hits 6:30 EST, all eyes will be glued to the TV screen, computer, iPad, etc., and the remote will not be touched. The Super Bowl commercials and halftime show are consistently some of the highest rated programming every single year.
This year, however, they have some competition.
YouTube has taken another step forward with its AdBlitz channel, and will be hosting its own live halftime show during the same time as the Super Bowl halftime show, as SportTechie discussed last week.
This online show idea was driven from the fact that people spent over 6.3 million hours watching last year’s Super Bowl ads on YouTube, according to a Bloomberg Business report. YouTube will be battling Katy Perry and Lenny Kravitz with their own set of famous YouTube creators and musicians, such as Freddie Wong, who is famous for his role on Video Game High School, and Harley Morenstein from EpicMealTime. All in all, the stars set to perform in this show have over 60 million subscribers, with Wong holding over 7 million on his own.
Harley Morenstein will actually host the show on the YouTube AdBlitz channel. The show is going to feature fake Super Bowl commercials, musical guests, and an interesting array of stunts.
YouTube has been leaking hints to some of the stunts that will be performed, including a “so-called shower dive from a platform into a pool of beer, and a pool of cheese,” says Morenstein.
The show is going to be produced inside YouTube’s Los Angeles venue, with the help of LA’s online video network, the Collective Digital Studio. YouTube’s halftime show is designed to tailor to fans that are more interested in watching the ads than the actual game, which is, of course, markedly different than the NFL’s programming strategy.
YouTube is also using this as a promotional tool for their set of online stars that don’t have the chance of being added to regular television programming. The viewer comparison between YouTube’s head stars and the NFL’s lineup is a huge driving force behind this endeavor, according to Google’s (who owns YouTube) Managing Director of Brand Solutions, Suzie Reider.
Furthermore, YouTube is using this as a way to gain competitive advantage amongst its online advertising competitors, such as Facebook and Twitter. YouTube’s AdBlitz channel has been used during previous Super Bowls, allowing fans to vote for their favorite ads after the game was over. But this year, they are taking it to a whole new level.
The AdBlitz channel will continue to allow fans to watch the Super Bowl ads after the Super Bowl has aired; and, in addition, the fake Super Bowl ads from the online show will also be available for viewing, and fans can include those in their favorites voting.
Google and YouTube are using this halftime show to showcase their online talent to those viewers who may not have seen them; and, of course, to their loyal fans. With word of this online show spreading rapidly and speculation of what stunts and musical performances are yet to come, this endeavor is going to only gain ground and popularity as we get closer to Sunday night.
Once the lights go on in Glendale, and the teams are in the locker room making their second half adjustments, it’s show time.
Who will win the halftime show “Battle of the Viewers”, the NFL or YouTube? You’ll just have to watch the Super Bowl to find out.