Superbowl ad space sold, but it wasn’t easy

All ad space is officially sold out for the Super Bowl as of Monday, said CBS spokeswoman Shannon Jacobs. CBS, the broadcaster for this year’s NFL championship, had some difficulty selling the last few of more than 62 spots, according to CNN. t.

CNN reports that a 30-second spot sold for up to $3 million, and Anheuser-Busch is the top advertiser this year having purchased five minutes worth of ad time.

Several first-time advertisers are in the lineup, according to the LA Times, including Kia Motors America, Qualcomm’s Flo TV and KGB texting information service. In addition, the Christian group "Focus on the Family," will be displaying a controversial anti-abortion commercial featuring college football star Tim Tebow. In addition, CBS rejected a gay dating website advertisement for ManCrunch.com, reported the LA Times.

“This year we are going to call it the Controversy Bowl,” said Mike Sheldon, chief executive of the Los Angeles advertising firm Deutsch LA. “It used to be a championship football game, then it became an advertising showcase, and now the Super Bowl has turned into a microphone for special interests."

Last month, CBS said it was selling 62 spots, but spokesman Dana McClintock said that the number has grown and is now very close to last year’s 69 spots.

“We’re happy campers over here,” said Jo Ann Ross, the president of network sales at CBS. Ross also said that there are some spots still available during the pre-game broadcast.

Last year’s Super Bowl had a record 98.7 million viewers, according to Nielsen, and Kantar Media says ads during the 2009 game brought in $213 million.