Another round, please (of online advertising)

With Super Bowl Sunday just around the corner, sports fans are pulling out the grills, loading up on chips and, of course, the main dish—beer. Many people watch the Super Bowl because new advertising is always rolled out and with the premium prices companies pay, the ads better be eye-catching to say the least.

This year viewers might want to pay more attention to what is available after the game instead of during. Anheuser-Busch (A-B) looks to cash in on the increasing online audience by launching its own online entertainment network called Bud.TV, according to paidcontent.org. This site will be the first advertiser owned and operated network on the Internet.

A-B recognizes that this new medium is where it needs to target its core demographic of 21-27-year-old males, which comes with a price. For this project A-B redirected money from its cable and late-night spots to its online budget, which makes it 10 percent of its $600 million annual ad budget for 2007, according to a paidcontent.org article.

A-B has already poured an estimated $30 million, but in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Tony Ponturo, VP of global media and sports marketing for A-B, “Bud.TV has the opportunity to be a part of setting the new standard for original programming delivered via the Web.”

The fundamental shift in consumer preferences from boob tube to “brew tube” (title of a New York Times Magazine article) marks the beginning of creative ways advertisers are reaching audiences, but it also may mark the end of an era that used to be ruled by television advertising spots.