When it comes to connecting their products with the Super Bowl, marketers should either put up or shut up, as far as the National Football League is concerned. That's the message the league wants to
convey to so-called "ambush" marketers who try to look like a Super Bowl sponsor without shelling out the estimated $2.4 million for a 30-second TV spot during the game. "The Super Bowl is high
season for commercial encroachment," says NFL in-house lawyer Gary Gertzog. "It's pretty busy right now. We're in discussions with people we've called and sent cease-and-desist orders to." One company
that got in trouble was a gambling Web site that ran billboards proclaiming: "Everybody Bets on the Super Bowl at Sportsbook.com." The site's marketing director Alex Czajkowski says he didn't realize
the ads were out of bounds and that its lawyers are reviewing the situation. He says the NFL's tough defense of terms such as "Super Bowl" is ludicrous." What are we supposed to do, call it the Feb.
5th game?" he asks.
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