-
Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Jan 30, 2014
January 30, 2014
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. -
What are you buying for Sunday's Big Game?
The National Retail Federation is estimating about the same amount of Super Bowl spending this year as last, an average of about $68 on food, athletic wear, decorations and TVs. Other insights from NRF:
--Total spending on Super Bowl prep predicted to top out at $12.3 billion-with-a-B.
--Party-loving Gen Y is expected to spend most, with 18-to-24-year-olds forking over an average of $93 on Super Bowl partying, and those 25 to 34 spending $101.
--77 percent will buy special food, eight percent team clothing or accessories, and seven percent a new TV.
--About 39 million people plan to host a party, and 62 million say they will attend a get-together. An additional 10 million fans say they will watch from bars or restaurants.
--25 percent of adults told NRF the ads are the most important part of the game (with those in the 45 to 54 demographic most likely to say so). (Kaye)Nielsen's latest Super Bowl survey reports:
--181 million Americans predicted to sit down and watch Super Bowl XLVIII.
--Pizza jumped from the seventh most likely-to-be-served spot last year to number three; and wings shot up to the fourth spot, from number nine last year. Salty snacks and dips remain numbers one and two, but veggie platters dropped from number three to number nine.
--53 percent of Super Bowl partyers say they will either drink or serve beer during the game. Carbonated beverages came in second, at 51 percent, representing a big switch from last year, when 71 percent served soda, and only 42 percent offered beer.
--71 percent of consumers are expected to watch the commercials this year, up from 68 percent in 2013. The survey says 53 percent of viewers will use social media to share their opinions during the game itself.
--15 percent intend to watch the game on TV while using their smartphone, 14 percent while using a personal computer, and 11 percent a tablet. (Kaye)Everyday heroes:
A Minnesota teenager plans to sleep outside every single night for a full year to raise awareness of homelessness.
17-year-old RUDY HUMMEL has been sleeping in his parents' backyard for the past seven months. The high school junior started in the summer when it was warm outside. When the cold weather came, he built a mound of snow and hollowed it out for shelter. He says, "I came up with the idea to do this for a whole year just because I like to challenge myself, but now it means more than that." Hummel is asking for donations, which he will turn over to a couple of different homeless charities. (Still)Chic Sh*t:
A new study says 64 percent of women are wearing the wrong bra size. And only 29 percent of women know it. The study --conducted by Triumph International-- basically says that women choose lingerie based on the color and style, not how it actually fits. The SheFinds.com story also says American aren't paying proper attention to "the girls" compared to other countries. Just 35 percent of U-S women have been fitted for a bra within the last 6 months, which is way lower than the French, Italians, and the Brits. (Bartha)
Those @$#%* Foreigners:
Yesterday, two Norwegian politicians today formally nominated EDWARD SNOWDEN for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The members of parliament acknowledged that Snowden's NSA leaks probably "damaged the security interests of several nations in the short term," but they say the public debate and subsequent policy changes will lead to a better world. (The head of the prize committee has voiced a similar sentiment previously.)
The Nobel committee will stop collecting nominations tomorrow, finalize its list on March 4, and announce a winner on Oct. 10.
Editor's note: Call me crazy but I'm thinkin' it's a safe bet Nobel peace laureate Barack Obama won't be rooting for Snowden to join him in the winners' circle.
--Actually, the White House said today that Snowden's Nobel nomination "seems a bit premature," (and if anyone knows about premature Nobel Peace Prize awards, it's the Obama administration. --Maiman) -
-