Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Super Bowl Entertainment; Super Bowl Ads; "Welcome to the Future"

Aired February 03, 2006 - 10:35   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Time to talk Super Bowl. The big game has some bigtime entertainment. Everyone is supposed to keep their clothes on. The Rolling Stones are performing, but no homegrown Motown stars will join them for the halftime shows. But their will be some that will be performing anyway.
Our Will Selva, lucky guy, is in Detroit with more on the Super Bowl show business angle. Hello.

WILL SELVA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn.

Detroit residents were surprised that no homegrown musicians were picked for the halftime entertainment. After all, we are talking about Motown here. But no one was as surprised or shocked as the Queen of Soul herself, Aretha Franklin. Aretha Franklin was quoted as saying, quote, "How dare you come to Detroit, a city of legends and not ask one or two of them to participate," end quote. Well she finally did get a little respect here from the NFL. The league later announced that Franklin would sing the national anthem with Aaron Neville. Stevie Wonder will play before the game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVIE WONDER, ENTERTAINER: Next to where I was born in Saginaw, this is my hometown, and it's always exciting to come back home to see my friends and to just be on home ground. So it is going to be exciting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SELVA: The Rolling Stones, look at them. They blow into town. The Stones will play three songs at halftime. And Mick Jagger addressed the network's worry about live TV performances in light of Janet Jackson's recent wardrobe malfunction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICK JAGGER, ROLLING STONES: You know, the network television is -- they are always worried about how many times you're going to say (EXPLETIVE DELETED) on the air basically.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One.

JAGGER: And then I had a bit of a crisis this morning because they heard that Aretha was going to strip while she was doing the Star Spangled Banner. But all this will be worked out on the night. And I don't they needn't worry about it. Just calm down more and take life as it comes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SELVA: Only in Mick Jagger's world, right? Mick Jagger had said that he's not a big football fan, his first love is soccer, but he does have one Super Bowl memory. That's when Lynn Swann made a leaping catch. Now Lynn Swann, correct me if I'm wrong here, Daryn, but he's running for governor. The last time he made a leaping catch in the Super Bowl was a long time ago. So obviously he's not watching a lot of sports news, but nonetheless, they will be the halftime entertainment, and they say that they don't know what songs they are going to play at halftime. But we do know it's going to be three.

KAGAN: How can he not know. He knows. They are not saying. Yes, Lynn Swann is going for the Republican nomination in Pennsylvania to become governor there. A whole different sport and a contact sport as well.

Let's talk some sports here, Will, you and me.

SELVA: Sure.

KAGAN: It seems like the whole world is turning into a Pittsburgh nation here, rooting for the Steelers, but Seattle Has a good chance and just might be the underdog that comes and surprises everybody.

SELVA: Yes, that's right. They are four-point underdogs. And it's interesting, you make a very astute observation, because seems that there's a lot of coverage that is leaning towards the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now, obviously Pittsburgh is a lot closer to Detroit, and even when you walk around Motown and around the city, and the vibe you feel, it seems like a lot of it is coming from the Pittsburgh Steelers, and there haven't been a lot of Seattle Seahawks fans.

But you're right, you can't overlook them. They do have a lot of great team, and they have a great runningback by the name of Shaun Alexander.

KAGAN: They do.

SELVA: So either way, it will be something to watch to see who wins. Four-point favorites, that's what the Pittsburgh Steelers will be in the Super Bowl.

KAGAN: And hopefully it will just be a really good game and entertaining.

SELVA: That's the hope, that it will be good. At halftime, pregame, but obviously that the game is going to be exciting, too.

KAGAN: Absolutely. Will you enjoy it. It's a great assignment for you.

SELVA: Yes, it is. I think I'm getting feeling though in three of my toes right now, because it is freezing cold here, I'm going to lie to tell you.

KAGAN: We'll let you go warm up.

SELVA: OK, thanks.

KAGAN: Most of the diehard football fans will be in front of a television this Sunday cheering on their team or blaming the ref for bad calls. But for some, the Super Bowl is all about the ads. Commercials have become a major part of the big game, and companies fork over big, big bucks to score.

Allison Fass, a staff writer for "Forbes" magazine is joining us from New York.

Allison, good morning.

ALLISON FASS, STAFF WRITER, "FORBES" MAGAZINE: Good morning.

KAGAN: Big bucks, $2.5 million.

FASS: Yes, $2.5 million for just 30 seconds of commercial time. That's the most advertisers would be paying. Perhaps they really pay a little bit less because of deals or buying more than one ad, that kind of thing. And this price has more than doubled in the past 10 years. In 1996, it was just $1 million. Absolutely incredible. Let's look at some of the ads that we'll be seeing.

First up, Pepsi bringing in P. Diddy. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm the agent; I'll do the talking.

Diddy! So, you want to make a record with my client's Diet Pepsi.

SEAN COMBS, "P. DIDDY": He's fresh. He's new. The ladies love him. I got to have him signed for the label.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It sounds good, but we have to have mutual creative control.

COMBS: You've got a deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Also, we should mention that that's actor Jay Moore (ph) playing the agent type. And so, I guess, Allison, this one, the star, besides P. Diddy and Jay, is the Pepsi can.

FASS: yes, this is a great example of an advertiser using celebrities to make a point, and get the message across and get consumer attention.

KAGAN: On to Burger King, which has been using that weird Burger King guy in the suit, which kind of freaks me out. I hope he's not showing up on Super Bowl Sunday.

FASS: I don't believe he is.

KAGAN: Instead -- that guy. It's the Whopper ad. Do we have sound on this one?

All right. Allison, just explain this one to us then.

FASS: Well, I haven't actually seen this commercial yet myself. But I know that it's supposed to be Whopperette, I guess, female burgers dancing, so it is supposed to be like a 60-minute long musical that will stand out, because it will be quite entertaining and will get consumers attention, also, through the dancing, singing.

KAGAN: OK, hopefully more of the Whopperettes and the freaky Burger King in the mask guy.

FASS: I don't think he's going to be in there.

KAGAN: Do you know who I'm talking about?

FASS: Yes.

KAGAN: Dove going for a more serious message for women and girls. We do have a little bit of sound from this one.

(SINGING)

KAGAN: Now, this might seem a little counter programming for Super Bowl, but I saw one statistic that more women are actually tuned into the Super Bowl than are tuned into the Oscars. So there definitely is a target audience to get.

FASS: Yes, that's correct. Forty-four percent of the Super Bowl audience last year was women. That was 38 million women and that's 10 million more than who watched the Oscars. So it's certainly a large female audience. And I think this year, more than ever before, advertisers are recognizing that the large audience includes lot of women, even young girls, too.

KAGAN: And that message of that commercial going to kind of the little girl in all of us who feel like if you don't fit in...

FASS: Yes. I mean, it's about the little girl in all of us but it's also about making a point to fathers, uncles, neighbors, everyone watching the Super Bowl about the importance of self-esteem. And it's an interesting marketing technique because, obviously, Dove isn't only thinking about self-esteem amongst girls, but creating a strong feeling for the brand so that women buy Dove products.

KAGAN: Allison Fass from "Forbes" magazine. Thank you. Enjoy your Super Bowl.

FASS: Thank you.

KAGAN: As we move on, thieves, bad news under any circumstances. But the one caught on this surveillance tape is downright cruel, and a little girl was his victim. That story is ahead.

And from caught on tape to caught in the act. Don't try this at home. A burglary suspect finds himself in need of some help. Something is fishy here. We will tell you what.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: You're about to see a first in medical science, a breakthrough in the use of brain power and what it might mean to those who are paralyzed, unable to move but they're able to think.

Our Miles O'Brien says "Welcome to the Future."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was one of the people that whenever anybody did something nice for me, I would send them a thank you card. Just the short things, just writing what's going on in our lives. And I can't do that anymore.

My family thought I was nuts, but I used to love going out and shoveling snow. It was just invigorating. And I do miss that. When I first was diagnosed, I thought I would start keeping a journal. I like to blog because I'm able to write my feelings down. And I like for people to see that life can be still lived with a disease such as mine.

Most times I have to use my left hand to move my right hand that's on the mouse. One of my concerns for the future is that I'm not going to be able to write my blog, because I won't have the function at all from my hands.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Rose Marie (ph) was diagnosed with ALS, Lou Gehrig's Disease, about two years ago. Rapidly, she is losing the ability to move or even speak. But there's nothing wrong with her mind. What if she had the ability to write her blog, to control her computer, simply by thinking about it?

(voice-over): This man believes the future is now. Dr. Leigh Hochberg of Massachusetts General Hospital is one of the nation's top neurologists. His focus -- a mind-boggling clinical study is called BrainGate.

DR. LEE HOCHBERG, MASS. GENERAL HOSPITAL: The goal of the BrainGate neural interface system is to determine whether someone with paralysis is able to use their own thought or their own intention to move to at first control a computer cursor on a screen.

O'BRIEN: It all begins with this tiny chip. Attached to the part of the brain that controls movement, it detects electrical activity and sends those signals to an external device, a process which then interprets the brain waves and feeds them into a computer, literally turning thoughts into action.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi there. O'BRIEN: Twenty-six-year-old Matthew Nagel (ph) was the first person to participate in the BrainGate clinical trial. Paralyzed from the neck down, watch what he accomplished purely through the power of his mind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next we're going to turn on my television.

HOCHBERG: He was able to use that computer cursor to change the channel on his television set.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, channel down. Now I'm going to channel up.

HOCHBERG: To open and close simulated e-mail.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It says you are doing a great job.

HOCHBERG: He was also successful in opening and closing a prosthetic hand just by thinking about it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Open, close. Not bad, man, not bad at all.

HOCHBERG: I'm very hopeful that these technologies will be able to help people with paralysis in the future, control their environment more directly. And I hope one day to be able to move again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The great majority of people live three to five years after diagnosis. Some people live ten years, there are some that live 20 years, which I plan on being one of those people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And an update for you. A second pilot study is now enrolling people just like Rose Marie. Experts are trying to determine how BrainGate can specifically help victims of Lou Gehrig's disease.

In other news today, there has been a string of suspicious fires in churches around Alabama. We get the latest now from Kelvin Reynolds with our affiliate WBRC.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELVIN REYNOLDS, WBRC REPORTER (on camera): I'm here at Ashby Baptist Church, where you see behind me a half dozen or so volunteer firefighters still in the area, putting out a blaze that started sometime around 6:00 this morning. The church's pastor says he believes that the fire was started in the pulpit area.

They say that's the same M.O. that they believe occurred at the other churches that were set on fire earlier this morning. So far, according to the Bibb County Sheriff's Office, no suspects have been named. No one has been arrested at this point.

A lot of the members at the church are very upset, about 20 or so individuals who attend church here at the end of the road at the church, holding each other, crying. Many of them in tears because of what happened here. We understand that the ATF, the Alabama Bureau of Investigation and the state fire marshals office are investigating, hoping to bring this case to a close.

Reporting in Bibb County, Alabama, I'm Kelvin Reynolds.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Now I want to take you to live pictures from Washington D.C. Indicted former White House aide Lewis Scooter Libby in court today. A trial date set for next January. Let's go ahead and listen to his attorneys.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... will permit us the time we need to prepare Mr. Libby's defense. The defense will show that Mr. Libby is totally innocent, that he has not done anything wrong, and he looks forward to being totally vindicated by a jury.

QUESTION: Mr. Libby, how come your handwriting is so messy?

KAGAN: A little moment of humor there. Questions about Scooter Libby's hand writing. That got a smile on his face, has not had a lot to smile about in recent months, as he was indicted on charges of obstruction of justice, and perjury and making false statements in the investigation into the disclosure of Valerie Plame's, the CIA operative's, identity. He resigned his position as Dick Cheney's chief of staff after that indictment. And as you might have heard the attorney mention, that trial date has been set for almost a year from now in January of 2007.

We'll take a break. We're back with more news after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MARKET REPORT)

(NEWSBREAK)

KAGAN: Well fighting the war on terror with no bullets involved. How is that possible? Straight ahead in the next hour of CNN LIVE TODAY, U.S. troops are engaged in a very special battle against terror in the African nation of Ethiopia.

The second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com