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# Super Bowl Ad Dilemma, Smartphones Finger Rioters, Do Stores Still Matter?
- URL: https://www.nearmedia.co/superbowlads/
- Published: 2021-02-05T21:17:33.000Z
- Updated: 2021-02-05T21:17:33.000Z
- Author: Greg Sterling
- Tags: News

### Every Super Bowl We Ask: 'Is It Still Worth It?' 

The Super Bowl is Sunday. You know that. And while some high-profile advertisers such as Coke, Ford and Budweiser are sitting this one out, ad slots are sold out at roughly $5.5 million apiece. The question of who should be running Super Bowl ads is complex and depends [on a range of variables](https://morningconsult.com/2021/02/05/strongest-super-bowl-lv-affinity-brands/?ref=nearmedia.co). So is the spend justified? For that price [you could buy about 6 million paid-search clicks](https://digiday.com/marketing/what-a-super-bowl-ad-can-buy-in-digital-media/?ref=nearmedia.co) on Google. 

**Our take:** 

- More than 1 in 4 people (26%) will stream the game rather than watch on traditional TV, according to survey [data](https://www.adtaxi.com/blog-roll/2021/1/19/partys-over-for-super-bowl-lv-68-of-viewers-plan-to-stay-home-for-the-big-game?ref=nearmedia.co) \-- up from 21% in 2019\.
- Traditional media face continuing audience and ad-revenue erosion, in the face of COVID-driven [behavior changes](https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/360270/people-using-tv-data-declined-in-q4-after-high-pan.html??ref=nearmedia.co) and budget reallocations.
- Digital media have been the big beneficiaries of the brand budget shift; that will only continue going forward.

### Smartphone Data Locates Capitol Lawbreakers

Federal law enforcement officials have methodically been identifying the ringleaders and most violent participants in the January 6 Capital riots in Washington, DC. Some in the media and elsewhere have celebrated that smartphone selfies and social media posts self-incriminated the lawbreakers. Smartphone location data [has also been instrumental](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/05/opinion/capitol-attack-cellphone-data.html??ref=nearmedia.co) in tracking the rioters. We should probably be concerned about that. 

**Our take:** 

- Smartphone location data is a version of PII and incredibly revealing.
- China's use of advanced technologies (i.e., facial recognition, smartphone tracking) is dystopian, but that abuse potential exists here.
- The genie's out of the bottle; now we have to be very thoughtful as a society about data privacy.

### Do Retail Stores Matter Anymore? 

High profile UK retailers Topshop and Debenhams [were acquired](https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2021/02/01/asos-buys-topshop-brand-for-405-million/?ref=nearmedia.co) and will now become online-only brands. Asos Plc is buying the owner of Topshop and two associated store brands; Boohoo Group is buying Debenhams, which was founded in 1778 (that's right). The acquisitions and store closures, causing thousands of layoffs, are seen as reflective traditional retail's decline. 

**Our take:** 

- The media narrative is that traditional retail is over; that's superficial.
- While an impressive 30% of total 2020 retail spending in the UK was online, 70%, by definition, was not. E-commerce is about 16% in the US.
- The future of retail is not online-only; it's about the intelligent mixing of online and offline assets – stores are far from dead, though specific retailers may be.

## Short Takes

- Democrats [introduced](https://thehill.com/policy/technology/537524-democratic-senators-introduce-bill-to-limit-power-of-section-230?ref=nearmedia.co) a bill to narrow platform liability protections under **Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act**.
- Google was [unsuccessful](https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/360284/google-must-face-android-spying-suit-judge-rule.html??ref=nearmedia.co) in dismissing a class-action **"Lockbox" Android user "spying" lawsuit**.
- **Google [launches](https://blog.google/products/news/google-news-showcase-launches-australia/?ref=nearmedia.co) its News Showcase in Australia** despite its ongoing dispute with news publishers and the government.
- **Twitter is defying doomsday predictions after banning Trump**; usage is [holding steady](https://bigtechnology.substack.com/p/banning-trump-didnt-change-how-much).
- **Facebook's claim that small businesses will lose revenue** from Apple's opt-in tracking rules [turns out to be fake news](https://hbr.org/2021/02/facebooks-misleading-campaign-against-apples-privacy-policy?ref=nearmedia.co).
- **Paid-search growth** [returned to pre-pandemic levels](https://www.merkleinc.com/thought-leadership/digital-marketing-report?ref=nearmedia.co) in Q4\.
- In 2020 **product-subscription enrollments jumped 48%** YoY.

Please let us know what you think. Email [gsterling@nearmedia.co](mailto: gsterling@nearmedia.co) with suggestions and recommendations.