• by Karl Greenberg , January 17, 2007

Honda, for the first time, will advertise during the national broadcast of the Super Bowl. The company will run several short spots during the Feb. 4 broadcast of Super Bowl XLI on CBS. Ads will include two 15-second spots for Honda's Element, plus a 30-second ad touting Honda as the most fuel-efficient automaker. All will run during the fourth quarter.

"The Super Bowl remains one of the best opportunities to reach a wide television audience in one shot," said John Mendel, senior vice president of American Honda, in a release.

The Element ads extend the nameplate's "Crab" campaign, which put the vehicle in a tete-a-tete with animated creatures.

General Motors will run two Chevrolet and one Cadillac ad. One of the Chevrolet ads will have been produced by a team of college students, as part of the Chevrolet Super Bowl College Ad Challenge, launched last year. The winning 30-second spot appears on the Feb. 4 broadcast.

Chevy starts running webisodes of the ads on Jan. 22nd on YouTube and elsewhere.

Chrysler won't advertise during the bowl, and Toyota will run advertising during the game to promote its Tundra pickup truck. Ford is mum about its Bowl plans.

CBS is reportedly asking more than the $2.5 million ABC charged for a 30-second spot during last year's game. Nielsen Media Research reported that 90.7 million people watched last year's game, the highest viewer numbers in nearly a decade.