Arizona Builder Buys Super Bowl Commercial Spot

Fulton Homes will have a 30-second local commercial during the Super Bowl.

Fulton Homes CEO Doug Fulton was rooting for Bret Favre and the Minnesota Vikings to win Sunday’s NFL playoff game. Not because of any special fondness for Favre, but because the builder believed that Favre playing in the Super Bowl would mean more people in the Arizona area would tune in and see Fulton Homes' 30-second commercial during the game.

“I just wish Favre were playing,” said Fulton.

Regardless of the quarterback matchup, though, the Tempe, Ariz.-based builder’s commercial will air during the game in the Tempe Valley and northern Arizona areas as it has for nine out of the last 10 years, despite the fact that the builder has been under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for a year.

“We booked early so we got a better deal and committed no matter who was going [to the game],” said Fulton, adding the company will air commercials on local television before and after the game as well.

“We are guaranteed a 45% market share” of television viewers, he said, and the number is multiplied because so many people watch the game in groups at bars as well as in homes.

Without saying exactly how much commercial time during the game costs, he confirmed that it’s in the $50,000 to $60,000 price range, down from $100,000 before the economic downturn.