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Super Bowl Adds Web Extravaganza

Super Bowl advertising has always been a television event in and of itself, but now, the Web is playing an increasingly bigger role in the advertising blitz. This year, Super Bowl marketers are dabbling in everything from Web video to profiles on social-networks as part of their Super Bowl campaign. Companies that have spent $2.7 million on 30-second TV ads are expanding their investments through online promotions and tie-ins. Meanwhile, advertisers without Super Bowl spots are splashing cash on big, cheap Super Bowl audiences online.

Some examples: this weekend, Pepsi North America is boosting its Super Bowl TV presence with an ad blitz on Yahoo. Viacom's Paramount Pictures just signed a deal with ESPN.com to be the dominant advertiser during the Big Game for the next three years. Telecom giant Verizon Communications, which has never purchased a Super Bowl TV spot, is sponsoring AOL's Super Sunday Ad Poll.

News Corp.'s MySpace, realizing that the ads themselves are content, will post the lineup on its site for free in an effort to bring users back to MySpace.com. Advertisers are already bidding on Super Bowl-related terms on search engines Google and Yahoo.

Read the whole story at The Wall Street Journal »

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