Pay close attention to the ads during the Super Bowl as you will see an ad from the U.S. Census Bureau. The 30-second, $2.5-million reminder asks all Americans to stand up and be counted.
The purpose of the videos and other advertising is to make the population more aware of the census and the need to mail it back. By increasing awareness, the Census Bureau hopes to save a lot of money. For every percentage point increase in the 2010 Census mail-back participation rate, the Census Bureau saves about $85 million in follow-up costs with households that failed to return their forms.
CBS provided added value in the form of two more 30 second ads in the pre-game show and additional 12-second vignettes featuring James Brown delivering a message on behalf of the Census. The extra ads reportedly were added at no extra cost to the Census Bureau.
The census, conducted every 10 years, is an official count of the nation's population mandated by the Constitution. The results are used to determine distribution of taxpayer money and the apportionment of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives. Every U.S. household, including those occupied by non-citizens and illegal immigrants, must be counted. In fact, non-citizens have been counted every ten years since 1790, as required by the Constitution which clearly states “all inhabitants” of the country must be counted in the U.S. Census.
The census questionnaire is one of the shortest forms in history. It consists of 10 questions and is intended to take no longer than 10 minutes to complete, according to the bureau's Web site. The advertising campaign represents the most extensive and diverse outreach campaign in U.S. history, with advertisements appearing in 28 languages.
The Census Bureau's Super Bowl video has not yet been released as I write these words. However, other Census Bureau videos are available on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/uscensusbureau.
