A few days ago, we reported that Panos Panay, the general manager for Microsoft"s Surface tablet division, had posted a note on his Twitter account meant for Jon M. Chu, the director of the first Surface TV commercial that aired in October, several days before the launch of the Surface tablet. Panay stated, "This was a lot of fun @JonMChu. Maybe we should do it again…" Chu replied with the message, "yes! But we gotta go even bigger:)."
This would seem to be a big hint that Microsoft is teaming up with Chu once again to make a new commercial, most likely for the upcoming Surface Pro tablet. Earlier this week, Microsoft confirmed that the Surface Pro would go on sale on February 9.
That date also happens to be less than a week after Super Bowl XLVII, which is usually the single biggest live TV event of the year. Last year"s Super Bowl was watched by 111.3 million people in the U.S. alone. The NFL game will be broadcast by CBS this year, and Ad Age reports that commercial spots are going for between $3.7 million and $3.8 million.
CBS has apparently sold all of the spots for this year"s Super Bowl, but that doesn"t mean Microsoft can"t be included in the mix. Indeed, the Los Angeles Times reports quotes John Bogusz, CBS Sports" executive vice president of sales and marketing, as saying, "If some advertiser comes to us with an extremely attractive offer, we would find a way to get them in."
So, with the launch of the Surface Pro coming up just days after Super Bowl XLVII, and those Twitter messages between Panay and Chu, does that mean Microsoft will come in with a last minute Super Bowl ad? Unfortunately, Microsoft is not saying. The company sent Neowin a statement saying, "We have nothing to share on whether Microsoft has plans for a Super Bowl ad."