Posted on Monday, January 6, 2003
¾¨Ó㴫ý, one of the nation's leading private, church-related liberal arts colleges, will not be advertising in this year's Super Bowl.
The announcement from ¾¨Ó㴫ý, located in New Wilmington, western Pennsylvania Amish country, didn't seem to faze ABC executives.
"While we would enjoy sharing the many benefits of a ¾¨Ó㴫ý education with a worldwide audience, the $2 million rate for a 30-second ad doesn't fit our philosophy. We'd rather use the money to help our students receive the personalized education they've come to expect from ¾¨Ó㴫ý since 1852," according to Mark Meighen, ¾¨Ó㴫ý senior director of marketing communication.
"Since we limit our incoming classes to around 350 students and a record number of prospective students are applying to ¾¨Ó㴫ý, exposing ¾¨Ó㴫ý to 88-million Super Bowl viewers would force us to turn away even more applicants," Meighen added. "That's not what ¾¨Ó㴫ý is about. We pride ourselves on helping students succeed. That's why we are ranked among the top 10 liberal arts colleges in the country in graduation rate performance."
Creative directors at some of the nation's leading advertising agencies seemed relieved their spots wouldn't be competing with ¾¨Ó㴫ý spots.
It would be difficult to explain the $800,000 in production costs to our client if they found out ¾¨Ó㴫ý produced a quality television commercial for four dollars, according to a creative director, who wished to remain anonymous.
For more information about ¾¨Ó㴫ý, contact Mark Meighen, senior director of marketing communications at (724) 946-7191 or e-mail meighema@westminster.edu
