• The New York Post, Thursday, December 21, 2006 11:47 AM

Gillette and Motorola are among the veteran advertisers that will sit out Super Bowl XLI, which will be broadcast by CBS from Miami on Feb. 4. Aleve and Taco Bell will also be on the bench, while Ford is still deciding. Microsoft is considering a buy as part of a massive marketing push for its new Vista operating system.

Anheuser-Busch, which has been the exclusive beer sponsor since 1989, has bought enough ad time to run at least 10 30-second spots. Pepsi, the perennial No. 2 advertiser, will also be back with a handful of spots, after also agreeing to sponsor the half-time show.

And Careerbuilder.com, the online recruitment site that has become known for its Super Bowl chimp ads, has bought two spots. Other returning advertisers include FedEx, Go-Daddy.com, General Motors and Frito-Lay.

The asking price for a 30-second spot is $2.6 million, up slightly from $2.5 million last year when the game aired on ABC.

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