Intuit Giving a Small Business a Shot at a Super Bowl Ad

What's This?

By Todd Wasserman2013-07-31 12:20:13 UTC

It's July, but Intuit is already thinking about the 2014 Super Bowl.

The company, which is known for its Quicken and Turbo Tax personal finance software, will highlight one small business in a 30-second TV spot during the third quarter of the game, which is scheduled for Feb. 2.

Intuit is asking interested small businesses to visit its Intuit Small Business Big Game website and tell their story in 600 words or less. During the week of Sept. 23, the businesses with the most votes from the public will advance to the next round. On Oct. 28, Intuit's 8,000 employees will narrow down the competition from 20 to a final four, which will be announced on Nov. 11. On Dec. 1, a winner will be chosen.

The long run-up ensures that Intuit will get a lot of publicity value out of its ad buy. Thirty-second spots in this year's game sold for $3.7 million, according to Advertising Age. In that respect, Intuit — which has never been a Super Bowl advertiser — appears to have learned a lot from Frito-Lay, whose "Crash the Super Bowl" contest awarding three or more Super Bowl spots to aspiring filmmakers, has helped the company dominate pre- and post Super Bowl buzz for several years.

Image: Getty, Ronald Martinez

Topics: Advertising, Business, intuit, Small Business, Super Bowl