There will be several ads that will be the talk of the town at every coffee shop and water cooler.  Look for surprising work for CareerBuilder from Wieden & Kennedy while Coke , Pepsi and Gatorade will fight the leading seller of malt beverages for share of stomach with new work and perhaps a new brand. A very clever combination of web-based communications tied in with the Anheuser-Busch Super Bowl 10 spot buy is being launched and reflects a clear understanding of the audience and its use of technology. In fact, several agencies and their clients have designs that are based on the behavior of the game’s viewers and the ways in which a contemporary audience puts their laptops and TVs in play so that their experience is enhanced.   And, relationships with the brand deepen and the interactivity that results generates a data set of real value.  This past week and again on Sunday – and probably for some time afterwards - we will see that first large scale convergence of the internet and television – and with some new panel and survey techniques, measurements of viewership and likeability will be offered. 

 But, for the advertisers the significant result will be the data set generated that goes beyond the initial response to the ads. Multi-media campaigns depend on the supportive interaction between the several channels.  During the last half of the last century the conventional wisdom of media planners was that out-of-home advertising was important support for the award winning 4-color ads and TV spots – and it was.  The data set that will be generated for those advertisers using all that communication technology offers in Super Bowl XLII will reflect support as well. The level of engagement and consumer generated content that result will be striking - not about the game but about human behavior.  Advertising and the experiences that it produces give us the kind of knowledge that builds and maintains great brands.  The smashing creativity of Mean Joe Green or Apple 1984 are part of the legend of Super Bowl advertising; the media management thought that has produced some of the approaches we will see on Sunday are the introduction of new legends that will frame future work for some time to come.