• USA Today, Friday, January 13, 2006 12 PM

High-definition has come to Super Bowl ads in a big way this year. When the big game airs Feb. 5, TV viewers who own HD TV sets (and there are more of them than ever, according to sales reports) will be able to view more than half the ads in HD, according to ABC, which will televise the game this year. Among this year's are the first HD Super Bowl ads from Anheuser-Busch, the largest advertiser, which will run for five minutes. As more consumers snap up HDTV sets, advertisers are adopting often more costly and complex HD. "High-def continues to grow in popularity, and we want our consumers to see our... ads in the highest-quality format," says Marlene Coulis, A-B head of brand management. Even so, there are still obstacles. Depending on the filming and post-production techniques, the ads can cost up to 15 percent more to produce. That's a considerable amount, especially for the Super Bowl, where a 30-second spot costs an average $2.4 million this year.

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