Half of Super Bowl ads had hashtags

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The number of hashtags used was actually down from a record 57% of last year's Super Bowl ads, according to Marketing Land. A total of 16 commercials included website addresses but no hashtags, and nine included both URLs and hashtags.

Specific social networks weren't called out too often: Facebook (FB, Tech30) got just four mentions, and Twitter (TWTR, Tech30) was included three times. But Snapchat got its first Super Bowl mention this year, as part of the advertisement for the Rebel Wilson comedy "Pitch Perfect 2." (Universal Studios cleverly asked Snapchatters to post snaps with the phrase "PitchPerfect2").

And one hashtag backfired horribly.

Nationwide's controversial commercial -- in which a boy declares that he missed out on his childhood because he died in an accident -- used the hashtag #MakeSafeHappen.

People took to social networks using the hashtag to ridicule the insurance company and its total downer of a message.

"Try as you may, you can't #makesafehappen. You can #makeparanoiahappen though," tweeted @annsattley.

"Preventable ads are the #1 cause of death among our multi-year ad contracts. #MakeSafeHappen," tweeted Sean Davis, chief operating officer at Media Trackers.

Related: Super Bowl advertisers 'are on trial'

People on social media were much kinder to the other 24 brands that decided to include hashtags in their ads.

Toyota: #OneBoldChoice

BMW: #HelloFuture

Snickers: #EatASnickers

Skittles: #SettleIt

Lexus: #LexusNX

T-Mobile: #Uncarrier, #KimsDataStash

Budweiser: #BestBuds

Coca-Cola: #MakeItHappy

Avocados From Mexico: #FirstDraftEver

Dove Care+Men: #RealStrength

Doritos: #Doritos

Nissan: #WithDad

Nationwide: #MakeSafeHappen

Esurance: #sorta

Fiat Chrysler: #500X

GoDaddy: #GoDaddy

Microsoft: #empowering

Always: #likeagirl

Lexus: #LexusRC

Mophie: #staypowerful

Loctite: #winatglue

Bud Light: #upforanything

Mercedes: #TheBigRace

Wix.com: #ItsThatEasy

Related: These Super Bowl ads made this Dad cry

First Published: February 2, 2015: 7:56 AM ET

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Julián Castro: Obama's housing chief wants to talk about the middle class, not politics

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The former San Antonio mayor moved to Washington, D.C., last year after Obama nominated him to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Joining the president's Cabinet at age 39 elevated Castro's national star power. In a recent interview with CNNMoney's Christine Romans, Castro insisted he's wholly focused on his current job -- at least for now.

"The speculation about what's next or what's in the future for me has been very flattering. You know, who wouldn't be flattered by that?" Castro said. "But I'm going to try and do a great job now so I have a decent future in the years to come."

Asked about the widespread buzz he could be in the running to be the vice presidential running mate for Hillary Clinton in 2016, Castro responded: "I think the worst thing I can do is go down that road and forget about the important work I'm trying to do right now."

As HUD secretary, Castro is tasked with ensuring that more Americans can have better access to housing -- no small challenge coming on the heels of the epic collapse of the housing market that started in 2007.

Quiz: Are you a homebuying genius?

But Castro said he is confident that 2015 can be "a year of housing opportunity."

Falling gas prices, easing home prices and low interest rates mean "more folks will have some money in their pocket to save up for that down payment," Castro said.

Castro, whose twin brother, Joaquin, is a member of the House, acknowledged there will be limits to what the Obama administration can achieve on housing policy given that Congress is now fully controlled by Republicans.

Related: Best Jobs in America

Last year, lawmakers in the House and Senate across the political aisle negotiated over a housing finance reform bill aimed at restructuring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But those talks broke down, and it's unclear when and how those discussions could pick up momentum again.

Castro noted that there are certain things the administration can do without Congress's help, pointing to a recently unveiled announcement to lower the Federal Housing Administration's mortgage insurance premiums as an example.

"That's going to mean a savings of $900 annually for two million borrowers out there and it's going to spur a quarter of a million folks to be able to buy a home over the next three years," Castro said. "That's a real impact on the middle class."

First Published: February 2, 2015: 9:37 AM ET

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Another new record for Super Bowl streaming

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

That stat -- released by NBC shortly after the game -- can be read one of two ways.

One: streaming continues to take over by converting new fans. 1.3 million is the highest-ever number of concurrent streaming viewers for a Super Bowl.

Two: television distribution continues to reign supreme. If people can watch the game on a big screen through a cable or satellite provider, they generally will. Streaming is a back-up.

Both assessments are true.

More and more people are streaming all sorts of programming, including live sporting events. And that phenomenon is sure to continue in the years to come; if next year's Super Bowl broadcaster, CBS, decides to make the game available on the Internet, it'll probably break this year's streaming record.

Last year Fox's live stream of the game peaked at around 1.1 million viewers. Fox said that stream averaged 528,000 average viewers, meaning the number that were watching, on average, every minute of the game.

An NBC Sports spokesman said the average streaming viewership number is not yet available.

Even with a peak of 1.3 million simultaneous viewers, the online streams account for barely 1/100th of all Super Bowl viewing in the United States. Many observers expect the TV ratings for Sunday's game to surpass last year's record highs, when 112.2 million tuned in at home, according to Nielsen.

(That number is the television equivalent of Fox's 528,000 number for the live stream last year. Peak TV viewership was well above 111.2 million.)

TV ratings for Sunday will be released on Monday afternoon.

Nielsen's estimate for the TV audience actually undercounts how many people really watch, since viewing parties, bars, restaurants, and other out-of-home locations are not counted.

The point being: most people want to watch the big game on a big screen.

Amanda Morris of Oak Park, Illinois, had to stream Sunday's game because her DirecTV satellite connection was disrupted by a snowstorm.

The experience was "mostly okay," she said, aside from a couple times when the app crashed and had to be rebooted.

The biggest disappointment, she said, was that "some of the commercials were blacked out."

Other web-streamers complained about the same thing.

NBC sold Super Bowl ads for TV and for the web separately, and the web ads cost a whole lot less than the $4.5 million price tag the traditional telecast commanded, since fewer people were expected to watch online.

While some advertisers did a package deal so their ads appeared in both places, others did not, leaving some streamers fuming.

NBC said there were no major hiccups with its live stream -- no small feat, given the high stakes of a Super Bowl.

There were no widespread complaints about Verizon's app that streamed the game to its wireless customers, either. (No viewership data for Verizon is available.)

But some streamers complained about the lag time between the TV broadcast and the web stream, resulting in spoilers on Twitter and Facebook when points were scored.

If the live stream "was an elaborate trick to punish cord-cutters, I'd say it was a great success," Slate's Will Oremus wrote.

"Seriously, watching cable is just easier," Mashable's Christina Warren tweeted.

First Published: February 2, 2015: 9:27 AM ET

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The shotgun silencer: Not really silent

Boulder City, Nev. (CNNMoney)

They're not even what you would call quiet. Unless you consider jackhammers to be quiet.

That's why the gun industry prefers to call them suppressors, because they suppress, rather than silence, the deafening blast of a gunshot.

It's definitely not like in the movies, where silencers are as quiet as a whisper.

That hasn't stopped companies from making new silencers.

The latest one, made for shotguns is from SilencerCo of West Valley City, Utah. The company demonstrated the silencer to CNNMoney at a shooting range during the Shot Show, a gun industry conference in Las Vegas last month.

Related: Gun silencer sales are booming

The noise generated by the shotgun when fired was 155 decibels, as measured by SilencerCo.

The American-Speech-Language-Hearing Association rates that level as "painful" and compares it to "fireworks at three feet."

CNNMoney then fired the shotgun fitted with its silencer -- the Salvo 12 -- which was less loud. But not by that much: 132 decibels.

The hearing association still rates that as painful, and compares the sound to a jackhammer.

This is why silencer companies actually recommend the use of hearing protection even when using their products. They've been around for some time -- automotive engineer Hiram Maxim invented the first silencer in the early 1900s, basing the design on a car muffler.

Related: Kalashnikov, made in the USA

Silencers are expensive and can cost anywhere from $700 to $1,400.

They are also not that easy to buy.

The federal government slapped restrictions on them in 1934 with the National Firearms Act, which was passed in an effort to control gang violence.

The government has the same regulations for silencers as a machine gun.

That means any person who wants to buy a silencer has to mail or fax his or her photo and fingerprints to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and also pay a $200 tax.

The approval process can take nine to 10 months.

Compared to that, its way easier to buy a gun, which requires a background check that involves showing a photo ID and electronically submitting a form to the ATF. The entire process doesn't take more than 20 minutes.

So the bottom line for silencers is that they don't do away with the boom of a gunshot, they are expensive and they are hard to buy.

No wonder they appeal only to the most dedicated gun users, like hunters, who usually don't like to wear ear protection.

First Published: February 1, 2015: 9:30 AM ET

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Here are the drivers of future economic growth

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Gone are the days of excessive leverage and the dominance of Wall Street. Gone are the days when the stock market --and U.S. economy -- had to be led by banks.

"The U.S. economy is transitioning from a financial services economy into something much more real," said Meredith Whitney, the former star Wall Street analyst who now helps run a hedge fund.

As the stock market turns the page on its worst month in a year, the ongoing economic transformation leaves investors wondering: If not banking, where are these "real" drivers of future economic growth?

Related: January was a terrible month for stocks

Biotech boom: Health care certainly seems to be one driver. The industry, a big winner in the stock market over the past year, has benefited from the shifting demographics of the U.S. population.

"The only way to support the influx of aging and newly-insured participants is to medicate," said Whitney, speaking at ETF.com's Inside ETFs Conference last week.

That's a big positive for companies like biotech rock star Gilead Sciences (GILD). The maker of hepatitis C drugs is expected to reveal an eye-popping 300% surge in earnings per share when it reports results on Tuesday.

More traditional pharmaceutical companies like Merck (MRK) should also benefit from the demographic shift. Merck is expected to post annual sales of $42 billion when it reports on Friday, a slight decrease from 2013.

Related: US economy misses the market at the end of 2014

Cheap oil = more manufacturing jobs: Whitney, who back in 2007 presciently predicted Citigroup (C) was in serious financial trouble, believes the labor market will get a shot in the arm from the manufacturing sector. Her thinking is that relatively cheap energy costs in the U.S. will prompt manufacturers to bring more jobs back to America.

A fresh look at the overall labor market is due out on Friday when the government releases the first read on 2015. The January report comes on the heels of the best year of employment growth for the U.S. since 1999.

Increased job creation and cheaper energy costs are expected to unleash consumer spending, which accounts for 70% of the U.S. economy.

While lackluster holiday sales are worrying some investors, Whitney is confident that consumers are going to prove willing to spend, not just save. The average American driver is expected to save $750 this year on gas.

Related: America is the place to put your money

Cashing in on consumers: That would be music to the ears of consumer-focused companies like Chipotle (CMG). The Mexican casual dining chain -- whose shares popped nearly 30% last year -- is expected to log annual sales of $4.1 billion on Tuesday. That's up by 28% from a year ago.

The same can be said about Walt Disney (DIS), which cashes in when consumers shell out big bucks to go see Mickey Mouse (and, lately, all things Frozen and Elsa).

Other big winners from stronger consumer include sports clothing retailer Under Armour (UA), another top 2014 stock. The apparel maker is expected to sport a 24% bump in fourth-quarter sales when it reports on Wednesday.

Related: Stocks getting a Super Bowl bump

And don't forget about coffee giant Keurig Green Mountain (GMCR) and Taco Bell owner Yum! Brands (YUM), each of which are also reporting results this week.

Auto makers should benefit from the shifting economic dynamics in two ways. Not only would increased consumer spending drive sales, but cheaper U.S. energy costs drive sales for gas-guzzling SUVs.

Investors will get a fresh look at the health of the auto market on Tuesday when Chrysler (FCAM), General Motors (GM) and Ford (F) post January sales.

Related: Nissan back in the Super Bowl after 18 years

$1 trillion present: Another key road to future economic growth could be just that: roads.

America's aging infrastructure badly needs a face lift. Whitney said well over $1 trillion of spending on roads, bridges and tunnels is needed and politicians in Washington are slowly realizing it would be good for the economy, too.

"Infrastructure has been the gift-wrapped package on the desk of politicians for a decade. It looks like this will be the year" politicians finally open it, Whitney said.

First Published: February 1, 2015: 8:44 AM ET

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What Super Bowl? The Ad Bowl has already begun

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

Some Super Bowl advertisers have been previewing their ads for days, trying to maximize their multimillion dollar investments. Others are keeping their ads under wraps until game time, believing that's the best way to stand out.

At an average cost of $4.5 million per 30-second ad, the stakes are obviously high.

NBC said ad time during the four quarters of the game officially sold out earlier this week. Almost as valuable is the commercial time during the network's six-hour pre-show -- and after the game, when NBC will show its popular drama "The Blacklist."

Watch: Super Bowl's strangest prop bets

More than ever, Super Bowl advertisers are supplementing their 15-, 30- and 60-second spots with viral online videos and what marketers call "social media war rooms."

But the spots are undoubtedly the most important part. On top of what's paid to NBC, companies pay advertising firms huge amounts of money to distill brand messages into funny, timely, celeb-filled, sex-soaked ads.

The game will feature 15 first-time Super Bowl advertisers.

"If you would have told me 10 years ago that Chevy wouldn't be in the Super Bowl, but that Wix.com or Dove products for men would be, I'd be very surprised," Richard Kirshenbaum, the CEO of ad agency NSG/SWAT, said on CNN's "New Day."

"But there's a new lineup. There's a new America," he added.

Wix, a website-building company, is one of the first-timers. Chief marketing officer Omer Shai told CNNMoney that it prepared almost a dozen "teaser" ads ahead of Sunday.

"We are updating and changing the campaign on a daily basis according to performance," Shai said. "This is the year that we're comfortable [taking] the brand to the next level."

Other newbies include the online insurance company Esurance, the glue brand Loctite, the toenail fungus treatment Jublia, and the mobile game maker UCool.

Related: Preview 17 Super Bowl ads

Household names like McDonald's (MCD), Coca-Cola (KO), Budweiser, and BMW will be present, too.

Coca Cola has a 60-second ad rebuking Internet "haters" that won't be seen until the game. But the company has already released clips with stars like Danica Patrick, Michael Sam and Robby Novak, better known as Kid President.

A Coke representative said the ad is "intended to disrupt the complacency that's set in around online negativity" -- something that anyone who's spent time on Facebook or Twitter knows about.

Perhaps the most thought-provoking ad of the game will be the one commissioned by the NFL for its "No More" initiative, intended to stop domestic violence and sexual assault.

"The spot, which features a woman calling 911 and pretending to order a pizza because her husband is in the room, is based on a real 911 call," said the ad blog Spot Bowl, which called it a "game-changer."

It said the NFL was giving over "some of the airtime it normally reserves for light-hearted self promos" for the PSA.

Marketers come to the Super Bowl with a wide variety of missions.

For Victoria's Secret, its ad is part of a weeks-long campaign leading up to Valentine's Day.

For TurboTax, the timing is right, too, because it's tax season.

Weight Watchers is using the stage to introduce a rebooted brand.

NBC will be promoting several of its forthcoming shows, like "Odyssey" and a variety show hosted by Neil Patrick Harris.

Most of the ads will, in one form or another, strive to make 110 million viewers laugh -- and, most importantly, remember the advertisers.

First Published: January 31, 2015: 3:58 PM ET

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Super Bowl tickets are most expensive ever

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The average ticket price so far is $3,554 -- about $1,000 more than last year, according to SeatGeek, which tracks online sales.

SeatGeek analyst Connor Gregoire said he does not expect the price for the few remaining tickets to come down before the Seahawks and Patriots face off on Sunday in front of 72,000 fans in Phoenix.

On Friday, the cheapest ticket was going for nearly $8,000 and the most expensive topped $24,000, according to SeatGeek.

And there are very few left -- only about 300 tickets on Friday. On the same day last year, there were about 4,000.

Related: Snickers cast Danny Trejo in Brady Bunch reboot

Getting a ticket to the Super Bowl is a tricky business. Only 1,000 are sold to fans at face value. The rest are divvied up among the league, which gives a lot to corporate sponsors, and the teams. Those tickets are either auctioned off to season tickets holders, or sold by brokers on the secondary market.

In the past few years, many buyers have held out until the last minute and, in fact, got a good deal as prices fell in the days leading to the game.

Game day is actually the busiest in the resale market, Gregoire said.

But this year prices have gone up. It's not entirely clear why. But there are fewer tickets than expected on the secondary market. That will leave some fans out of luck.

Related: Is a $45 million Super Bowl ad worth it?

First Published: January 30, 2015: 4:50 PM ET

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