Big Bucks Superbowl Ads Sell For $4m Per 30 Seconds, But Neil Patrick Harris Ad Attacked For 'Gay Agenda'

The superbowl is one of the biggest events of the US calender, with millions upon millions of people tuning in around the world to see the final of the season's football. It's no wonder, therefore, that its mid-game advertising costs so much - nor that the enormous spotlight it sheds on anyone involved in the event could end up drawing negative attention towards them, which is precisely what's happened to Neil Patrick Harris.

Neil Patrick Harris, an openly gay man, is part of the advertisement campaign letting everyone know the date of the Superbowl, along with Beyonce Knowles who will be performing at the half time show. In their respective advertisements, they both have football eye black on their cheeks, with writing on their faces with information about the game. However, the Houston Chronicle's The Buzz reports, one Christian group has accused him of using the platform to 'push his gay agenda' and to mock Christianity.

A footballer, Tim Tebow, uses his eyeblack to spread messages too, normally they're bible passage references. While the religious group thinks Harris is mocking Tebow, The Buzz's reporter astutely noted that bible passage references are also definitely, pushing an agenda. Harris's ad says nothing at all about homosexuality, and we're not entirely sure what a 'gay agenda' is, other than, to, y'know, be enjoy life as whomsoever you are? Pretty good agenda right there.

Plus, in better news, (for some, anyway) the ad space mid game has cost around $4m per 30 seconds, reports CBS. While it seems steep, last year's show averaged 111million viewers (a number that's only likely to rise this year), which is almost double the population of the entire UK, and therefore definitely worth the cash for the ad-space- if the advertiser's product cost only one dollar, less than 4% of people watching would have to buy it for them to make back their investment. Suddenly $4m seems reasonable!