• by Aaron Baar , January 25, 2010

The Super Bowl could very well be the only time that self-proclaimed geeks watch football on television. If so, Intel will be providing some humor for them. The company -- which makes the processors that run many electronic devices -- will have a presence during the game with a commercial running in the fourth quarter, and as the title sponsor of the post-game show.

"We like to jump into big events when we've got something important," Thom Campbell, senior media manager for the Santa Clara, Calif., company, tells Marketing Daily. "This year, we're launching our brand new family of Core-[branded] products, and we felt it needed a little pomp and circumstance."

Intel will run three commercials during CBS programming on Feb. 7: one spot in game and two others during post-game coverage, Campbell says. The commercials, from San Francisco agency Venables Bell & Partners, will continue the "geek humor" of the company's "Sponsors of Tomorrow" campaign that launched last May. (One spot in the campaign shows Intel employees fawning over a colleague -- Ajay Bhatt, co-inventor of the USB drive -- with the line: "Our rock stars aren't like rock stars.") The campaign, Campbell says, has served to remind consumers just how Intel inventions have become a part of their daily lives.

"Our technology is advanced, but it becomes ubiquitous as people use it," Campbell says. "We wanted to make sure we explain our products to make sure people know and trust Intel."

Last year, Intel partnered with four other companies to enable the launch of a 3-D television commercial during the Super Bowl. But with a new line of processors to promote, the company saw a need to go it alone this year. "This is us getting out there with our message without having to share it," Campbell says. "It's an opportunity to come back and remind people about Intel."

In addition to the commercial, Intel has signed on as the sponsor of post-game analysis for the Super Bowl, which has been given the title "The Intel Super Bowl Today Post-Game Show." The sponsorship is a way to extend brand recognition beyond mere commercials and hedge the company's bets a bit should viewers lose interest in the game and advertising by the fourth quarter (when the commercial is scheduled to run.) "It helps us focus and get the brand into more opportunities than just the ad," Campbell says. "It's a great added benefit."