PCs, Liberals square off with dueling Super Bowl ads

The Ontario PCs and Liberals will be going head-to-head with duelling campaign ads during Super Bowl Sunday. 

The parties are running two ads each during the Canadian broadcast of the NFL championship game Sunday night, which typically has the biggest TV audience and most expensive advertising time slots of the year. 

One of the Liberals' spots will be a recently released 30 second ads focused on PC Leader Doug Ford's hot-mic moment where he revealed he was happy President Donald Trump had won the most recent U.S. election — that is, until Trump "pulled the knife out" and threatened Canada with punishing tariffs, a spokesperson for the party said. 

An Ontario PC spokesperson said the party is running two "positive" ads: a new, 60 second spot as well as a 30-second ad that's already been circulating that argues Ford is the best choice to "protect Ontario" from the economic uncertainty posed by Trump's threatened tariffs.

The Ontario NDP also have a new ad out featuring the party's leader Marit Stiles that's a mix of policy and attack, though it won't be airing during that prime Super Bowl time slot.

Crombie and her party have been in the PCs crosshairs in at least two recent ads, one of which accused the Liberals of opposing policies aimed at "making life more affordable in our province." 

Weeks before the election began, both parties rolled out a series of ads taking shots at each others' leaders.

Potential for huge reach 

The Super Bowl is by far the biggest media event that will happen during the course of the Ontario election, so getting that coveted airtime is "a pretty big deal," said David Soberman, a professor of marketing at the University of Toronto. 

"In the context of a political campaign, I think what's important is whether your overall media plan manages to reach the people that you're targeting," Soberman said. 

"And the Super Bowl is just simply another potential branch that you can use to achieve that objective."

While ads that run during the Canadian broadcast of the event aren't nearly as expensive as those that run south of the border, Soberman estimates that these ads cost five or six times as much as a regular television ad. 

The Super Bowl ad placements suggest the PCs and Liberals have the funds available to spend on the expensive airtime, and that they're trying to galvanize support among their bases, said Harneet Singh, managing principal of EOK Consults, a digital marketing firm which works in the field of politics and advocacy.

A Liberal spokesperson told CBC the ads show the strength of the party's fundraising machine. 

Whether that translates into votes remains to be seen, Singh said. In fact, it could have the opposite effect if the ads don't go over well, he added. 

"It has happened a lot of times that an ad not done well can actually get the negative effect of being during the Super Bowl," he said. 

"But overall, I still believe when you run an ad on a spot like this, you're trying to make a point back home instead of only trying to appease the opposite camp."

CBC News has reached out to the NDP and Green Party of Ontario for comment on the PC and Liberals' Super Bowl ads.