• NY Times, Wednesday, January 18, 2006 12:15 PM

'Tis the season No, not that season, that one's over. This is the season for an avalanche of new TV advertising from marketers trying to take advantage of special television extravaganzas that don't come around very often. First there is the Super Bowl on Feb. 5, traditionally the biggest day of the year for Madison Avenue with its $2.5 million price tag for a 30-secopnd spot. Then, not long after, there's the 2006 Winter Olympics, a fortnight festival of exciting TV that major marketers will take advantage of by running ads in between shots of skiers, skaters, and bobsledders. All told, marketers in competitive categories like automobiles, credit cards, fast food and telecommunications will spend an estimated $1.1 billion on thousands of commercials during the two events. The onslaught is emblematic of a growing trend. As technology like digital video recorders makes it easier for consumers to avoid TV commercials, marketers run ads during programs that large audiences still perceive as must-see big events, which they go out of their way to watch.

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