Tide--the biggest detergent brand in America--will appear for the first time on the biggest day for advertising in America. Procter & Gamble has bought time during Super Bowl XLII on Feb. 3 for a commercial for the Tide to Go instant stain remover. The 30-second spot is scheduled to appear in the game's second quarter.

Tide to Go, which was introduced in 2005, is particularly fitting for a Super Bowl berth because of its properties as a quick stain remover, according to Suzanne Watson, Tide brand manager for North America. "There are thousands of parties that night," making Super Bowl Sunday "the biggest stain-based occasion of the year," she says. The commercial will be supported by a wide-ranging marketing campaign that includes the Internet, PR and promotions.

Demand for all sports programming has been high--even before the writers' strike upended the prime-time schedules of the major networks, says Lou D'Ermilio, a spokesman for Fox. The division of News Corp. has sold all but one of the 63 30-second commercials that it plans to run in the game for an average cost of $2.7 million.

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