Young Adults Really, Really Want to See Your Super Bowl Ad

In its second annual Super Bowl survey, San Francisco advertising agency Venables Bell & Partners found America's love for Super Bowl advertising is alive and well, especially among 18-34 year olds.

The study claims young adults look forward to watching the ads more than spending time with their friends and family, the half-time show and the national anthem, in that order. Of the 64 percent of young adults that would opt to watch the game with commercials versus commercial-free, 25 percent of that group would pay a $.99 subscription fee to watch the ads during the game.

Further, young adults' technology habits are evolving with 44 percent planning to text during the game, double that of the average survey population, and 40 percent plan to be on Facebook (vs. the survey's 22% average). In addition, three times as many young adults report they will tweet during the game.

Even with this multitasking, young adults' engagement in the advertising will remain high before, during and after the Super Bowl. Prior to the game, 60 percent will pay attention to who is advertising (versus 50 percent of the general population). And not only do 86 percent of young adults say they will talk about the ads during the game and afterward but they'll also continue to discuss the ads online.

Thirty four percent report they'll post something about the advertising to their social networking sites, while only 29 percent will post about game play. 30 percent plan to post something about the Super Bowl on Facebook (versus 15 percent survey average) and 59 percent plan to share their favorite ad on a social networking site (versus 39 percent survey average).

It appears younger consumers not only look forward to watching the advertising, but also, if given the opportunity, 48 percent would - agencies and brands rejoice...or cringe - like to participate in a consumer-generated ad making contest. 22 percent have also voted for their favorite consumer-generated ad to run during the Super Bowl game (versus 11% survey average).

And we all thought no one gave a shit about the ads. Oh well, we must all be wrong. After all, the study says so.