E-Stamps, an online postage provider,
on Tuesday said it was passing on high-priced Super Bowl advertising in
favor of more, but less high-profile, ads during the football playoffs.
In an environment in which dot-com advertisers have gotten major media
attention for betting a huge percentage of revenues on Super Bowl ads, some
companies are re-thinking what has become conventional wisdom, pulling out
of Super Bowl commitments or crafting alternative strategies. Angeltips.com, a site that matches
entrepreneurs with investors, recently dropped its plans to advertise on
the big match-up in favor of running more ads on ABC over the coming year.
In E-Stamp’s case, the alternative plans include buying spots on the
playoff games leading up to the Super Bowl, and later on prime-time shows
like 60 Minutes and 20/20, as well as on cable stations.
“We didn’t think it made sense to dump millions of dollars into one
national advertising spot during the Super Bowl,” says Ellen Perelman,
senior director of marketing at E-Stamp.
The new campaign, crafted by agency Butler, Shine, and Stern, is entitled
“Time-Saving Tips,” and depicts E-Stamp Internet postage as the answer to
the problems of busy small business owners.
“We were given a brief to develop creative that busy small business owners
could identify with, and to create a media schedule that reflects their
viewing habits,” says Greg Stern, president of Butler, Shine and Stern.
This is the company’s second national campaign. Its first, with the theme
“A Lot Can Happen When You Go Out To Buy Stamps,” was launched on October
25, 1999.