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Lansing School District to air commercial during Super Bowl

The Lansing School District will have a commercial air during Super Bowl LI on Sunday, alongside the likes of Anheuser-Busch and Coca-Cola.

A view of the Marriott Marquis Houston on Jan. 31 in Houston, Texas.

The Lansing School District will have a commercial air during Super Bowl LI on Sunday, alongside the likes of Anheuser-Busch and Coca-Cola.

The 30-second spot will air during the third quarter of Sunday's football game between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons during the only local advertising slot within the game, as well as during local time prior to and after the game, according to Bob Kolt, the district's spokesman.

The advertising package with FOX 47 cost $7,500, Kolt said, and production costs were about $1,000. Those costs are minuscule in comparison to the millions of dollars major advertisers are paying for 30-second spots, Kolt said.

"Why the Super Bowl?" Kolt asked rhetorically. "It's the biggest American television audience every year and delivers more people across all demographic audiences than any other event."

Production costs for the advertisement were about half what the district paid to produce a commercial that aired during last year's Super Bowl featuring Everett High School graduate Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Kolt said. This year's ad is simpler, Kolt said, featuring pictures from the district's showcase event from January. The spot is narrated by Superintendent Yvonne Caamal Canul.

"The defining issue is the communication of the kindergarten roundup date," Kolt said. "We want as many people to see the ad as possible."

Kindergarten roundup for the Lansing School District is happening from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. March 15.

The district is spending $20,000 in total on promotion, including the Super Bowl spot, following the passage of the Pathway Promise millage, he said. That includes TV and radio spots, as well as billboards and advertisements in print. That's necessary, Kolt said, because of the competitive environment school districts exist in because of schools of choice.

Contact RJ Wolcott at (517) 377-1026 or rwolcott@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @wolcottr.

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