Every year, millions of viewers from around the world tune in to watch one of the most exhilarating events in sports unfold--the Super Bowl. The one-game, winner-take-all contest for supremacy in the National Football League has grown into more than just a football game opposing the best teams of the NFL. It has become the premier event for new television advertising. With half of the ten, all-time most watched television events having been Super Bowls; networks are able to sell precious seconds of airtime to large companies for millions of dollars. As we move into the 21st century, publicity for the game's commercials has come to rival that of the game itself.
             Since it's beginning, the Super Bowl has drawn top sponsor dollars and high television ratings. But there are two key events that are linked to the phenomenal rise seen in Super Bowl advertising to what it is today. In 1969, Joe Namath led his New York into Super Bowl III, where they knocked off the Baltimore Colts in one of the most shocking Super Bowl upsets of all time, giving the American Football Conference credibility and causing Super Bowl ad rates to skyrocket. Fifteen years later, in what is widely accepted as the most famous Super Bowl spot of all time, the Apple Computer was introduced, making it a household name and setting a new standard for Super Bowl advertising (Lohse 14).
             The incredible climb of Super Bowl advertising is most clearly shown by the current prices for airtime. In last year's Super Bowl matchup between the New York Giants and Baltimore Ravens, companies paid CBS close to 2.4 million dollars for a thirty second slot. That amounts to over 75,000 dollars per second. CBS also heavily promoted and aired the show: "The Super Bowl's Greatest Commercials," the night before the big game. "The Super Bowl has become a phenomenon in and of itself for commercials. It provides a breeding ground for advertiser com...