With the approach of the SuperBowl, Madison Avenue’s showcase of conspicuous consumption, there’s almost as much anticipation for the advertising as about the game itself.  The size of the Superbowl audience has remained flat, but prices continue to edge up, to a record $2.6 million for a 30-second spot. 

Is it too much to argue that the Internet saved the blockbuster SuperBowl ad?  Now a Superbowl buy can be integrated into a wider, multi-channel campaign, either as the big pay-off at the end (e.g. for a user-generated content contest), or as the big bang kickoff for a campaign that will extend onto websites, cellphones, and of course YouTube.  By my reckoning, this is the first year when every single campaign will have a web tie-in. 

Here’s a quick run-down of some of the more anticipated SuperBowl commercials and their use of the interactive channel.  I’ll keep adding to the list as we get closer to the date.

Web-based Create-Your-Own Ad

• Chevrolet: Chevy College Ad
• Doritos: Crash The Superbowl
• Snickers:  Snickers Satisfies
• Alka Seltzer: Battle of the Bands
• NFL: SuperAd

Web Sneak Peeks

• Nationwide: KFed YouTube Profile
• Budweiser: Bud Bowl Preview (mobile campaign)
• Garmin: garmin.blogs.com
• CareerBuilder: Sneek Peek + ageomatic.com, a viral teaser
• Sales Genie: Sneak Peek
• GoDaddy: Rejected Ads timeline
• All the user-generated competitions offer sneak peeks as well

Register Online, Watch and Win

• Pepsi: Pepsi Super Can

Misha Cornes