Super Bowl XLIII Ads: Teased, Remixed, Too Hot for TV

Description

The most sacred of American annual rites is upon us: sitting through an over-hyped football game to see cutting-edge TV ads that occasionally rival feature films for production value and creativity.

But this year it isn't just about television -- the spotlight's online.

Some of America's biggest brands are experimenting with viral ads, user generated ads, online remixes and web-only versions that are too-hot-for-TV.

"The broad 'digital swing' this year is striking," said Tim Lefkowicz, president of Collective Intellect, an online marketing company based in Boulder, Colorado.

Some familiar faces like General Motors and FedEX have decided to punt this year, but NBC has nearly sold out its Super Bowl XLIII ad inventory at up to $3 million for a 30-second spot. It's worth it: Viewership always reaches stratospheric levels for the game, approaching 100 million people in the U.S. alone and about a billion worldwide.

Original URL

http://blog.wired.com/business/2009/01/super-bowl-43-a.html

http://blog.wired.com/business/2009/01/super-bowl-43-a.html