• by Tanya Gazdik , January 28, 2010

Vizio's Super Bowl spot will feature entertainer Beyonce Knowles-Carter, who is making her debut as the company's spokesperson.

The LCD HDTV company's game-day presence will also include the exclusive HD Sponsorship of the CBS Super Bowl Pre-Game Show entitled "The Super Bowl Today Presented by Vizio."

The 60-second spot will air in the fourth quarter of the game. Created by Venables, Bell & Partners of San Francisco, the spot was directed by three-time Academy Award nominee for cinematography, Wally Pfister, who is best known for his work on "The Dark Knight" and "Batman Begins." Further creative details of the spot are not being released.

The partnership with Beyonce and the Super Bowl spot shows Vizio's commitment to not taking "its foot off the throttle," says Laynie Newsome, Vizio co-founder and vice president of sales and marketing. "Beyonce is in an elite class of entertainers who are globally known and respected for their talent on stage and in front of the camera," Newsome tells Marketing Daily. "We believe both Vizio and Beyonce are closely aligned as American success stories who have redefined the rules in our respective industries."

The partnership with Knowles is for three years, according to a Vizio spokesperson. This is not Vizio's first celebrity endorser. The company also worked with NFL MVP San Diego Charger running back LaDainian Tomlinson.

Irvine, Calif.-based Vizio will also have opening and closing billboards as well as two additional 30-second spots that will air during the CBS pre-game show. There will be Vizio branding on the set and broadcast desk as well as Vizio HDTVs incorporated into the set design and providing background visuals. This is the second year that Vizio has had a presence during the Super Bowl broadcast.

The Super Bowl is a challenging event for advertisers because it is very difficult to make an impression among all of the flash and dazzle ads, says Tim Calkins, clinical professor of marketing at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

"There will be more than 60 different ads on the Super Bowl this year," Calkins tells Marketing Daily. "How do you stand out? Celebrities can certainly help an advertiser cut through the clutter."

The challenge is that the celebrity can't overshadow the brand, Calkins adds. "If viewers only remember the celebrity, it does very little to help the brand," he says. "The best advertising has great linkage; the spot is closely connected to the product and to the product benefit. The challenge for Vizio is to highlight Beyonce without getting lost in the process."