Procrastinators still had time to get a new TV for the Super Bowl Friday, P.C. Richard and Sears said in email blasts. P.C. Richard offered free delivery for Saturday, with basic setup and recycling, for customers who ordered by 5 p.m. Friday. The offer was good on all HDTVs $995 and up. P.C. Richard continued its exclusive buy-one-get-one-free promo on 65- and 40-inch Samsung TVs (see 1501200041). In an email with the subject line “special message,” Sears offered savings of $500-$900 on Samsung 3D TVs and up to $700 off a Samsung 55-inch 4K Ultra HD TV. A live chat specialist told us we could receive the 4K TV on Saturday with no charge for shipping. Meanwhile, a forthcoming CEA study cited by CEA in an email Friday said more U.S. consumers reported buying TVs specifically for viewing the Super Bowl than for any other sporting event. CEA said 79 percent of sports fans identified as football fans, vs. 49 percent for baseball, 46 percent for basketball and 28 percent for hockey. Of U.S. adults who planned to follow Sunday’s game, 71 percent said they’d watch on live TV, 5 percent planned to record on DVR and watch later, and 5 percent said they’d watch online, CEA said. As for second-screen applications, 8 percent planned to follow social media posts about the game on Facebook or Twitter, 6 percent of respondents said they’d watch clips online, and 5 percent planned to follow news and statistics from the game online.
Sol Republic announced a partnership with golfer Tiger Woods Wednesday to bring audio products to market in the coming months with the message “if it sounds better, it feels better.” Sol Republic, maker of headphones and loudspeakers, has formed similar marketing partnerships with U.S. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, surfer Julian Wilson and disc jockey/producer Steve Aoki.
Microsoft and T-Mobile are in this year's Super Bowl commercial pool, said the Super Bowl XLIX Ad Watch from Ad Age, joining Mophie as consumer tech companies making pricey ad spends on Sunday. T-Mobile is buying two spots, down from the three it ran last year, Ad Age said, and one premiered on TBS’ Conan Monday. Produced by Publicis and featuring Kim Kardashian West, the ad is a spoof calling for viewers to “save the data” as “each month, millions of gigs of unused data are taken back by wireless companies.” That data, Kardashian said, could be used to see her makeup, her backhand on the tennis court or her outfits. Information on the second T-Mobile commercial wasn’t available. No information was available Tuesday for the 60-second Microsoft spot.
Sonos, which surprised the CE world last year with a multi-million-dollar Super Bowl ad, won’t return to the NFL finale this year, company spokesman Eric Nielsen told us. “We had great success last year with our surprise ad but this year we are choosing other major tune-in moments to reach the modern music lover,” Nielsen said, declining to elaborate so as not to “spoil the surprise.” The company did, however, make an appearance during the NFL championship game last weekend with a spot for its Gold soundbar with a soundtrack from Shaft, an ad that debuted last fall. Meanwhile, accessory maker Mophie, which provides battery backup solutions for smartphones and tablets, is on the Advertising Age list of first-time Super Bowl advertisers.
Expedia is giving a free HTC smartphone to customers who sign up for a new or two-year activation with “select service plans” on the Sprint and Verizon networks, Expedia said. Customers can earn triple reward points in Expedia's loyalty program when they use the Expedia smartphone app to book flights and hotels, it said.
Three weeks before the Super Bowl, P.C. Richard pitched football fans in an email on a blowout TV event promising “Every HDTV on sale.” Spotlight deals on the retailer’s landing page include a Sharp 70-inch LC70LE660U, dropped by $401 to $1,298 and a 65-inch LC65LE643U HDTV slashed by $500 to $799. Sharp’s website showed the 65-inch model for $1,199, and Amazon was selling it Friday for $1,186. Amazon was selling the 70-inch model for $1,395 Friday.
Curved TV makers Samsung and LG didn’t comment Monday on Vizio’s spoof infomercial running on YouTube offering consumers "anti-curve glasses" for curved TVs. The ad, modeled after late-night TV infomercials, asks consumers if their new curved TV is causing them "frustration," depicting a male viewer who appears to be suffering from a serious headache. “Is the picture distorted, disappointing and just a disaster?” the voiceover asks. “Wouldn’t it be great if there were a simple, easy way to fix that and more? Well now there is,” the ad says, launching into a pitch for “anti-curve glasses” that are “easy to wear” for the entire family, “even pets.” Consumers who call immediately, the ad says, will get a “special seating guide to help you find the best seat for your curved TV.” Viewers acting in the “next 10 minutes” will also get “state-of-the-art caution tape so no one bumps into those curved TV corners again.” Viewers are directed to call 855-472-7890, a Vizio number identified as the “anti-curve TV hotline” where a recorded message thanks callers for watching the “spoof infomercial” and offers them “as a token of thanks” a “special $100-off coupon, subject to restrictions,” on a new 55-, 60-, 65- or 70-inch “beautifully flat” Ultra HD P-Series TV at vizio.com/fixcurve. Quantities are limited and the offer is good until 11:59 p.m. PST Sunday, it said. Coupons are available for $100 off each of the four models, according to terms at the website.
LG’s U.K. subsidiary was forced to disavow full-page color magazine ads from the Dixons Group’s Currys PC World chain that falsely claimed LG’s Music Flow home network speakers can deliver “true HD sound” over a Bluetooth link, a feat hitherto not thought possible. Many modern Bluetooth devices use the aptX stereo encoding system, which employs 4:1 compression to squeeze CD-quality 16-bit, 44.1 kHz audio into a 352 kbps data stream. Chip maker CSR, which now owns aptX, claims “CD performance” is possible using the aptX compression scheme, but even Chris Havell, CSR senior director-audio, expressed doubts about the claims in the Currys PC World ad when he emailed us to say: “I don’t believe that Bluetooth supports HD Audio.” An LG U.K. spokeswoman emailed us Monday, thanking us “for drawing our attention to this advert,” which she said was “a creative from Currys PC World,” not something LG had drawn up. “LG did not write the copy or have any creative input into this advert,” she said. “The advert would have been sent to LG prior to publication but unfortunately it appears the claim was missed on this occasion. LG will notify Currys PC World to ensure that any future adverts are amended.” She stressed that “no LG-owned channels,” such as the LG U.K. website, its Music Flow page or any Music Flow product user manuals, “mention HD playback via Bluetooth.”
Bjorn’s announced a 4K Ultra HD and OLED promotion for LG TVs, in an email Thursday. Consumers buying one of six LG models -- from the 55-inch 55EA8800 OLED TV ($3,999) to the 84-inch 84UB9800 4K Ultra HD TV ($8,999) -- are eligible for a $500 mail-in manufacturer rebate through Dec. 31. The offer is good in-store only at Bjorn’s, which launched an e-commerce business earlier this year.
Sonos sweetened the deal for gift cards that runs until Dec. 27 with an expedited free shipping offer good until Friday. Consumers who buy Play:1, Play:3, Play:5 or Playbar sound systems at Sonos.com by 2 p.m. EST on Friday will get a gift card ranging from $20 to $50, along with free two-day shipping, the company said.