Super Bowl: Online Branding Gains Mind Share

This Sunday's game in Detroit marks the 40th anniversary of the Super Bowl. And in true Super Bowl fashion, the biggest brands in the world are set to unveil their creative masterpieces for all of the world to pan.

The big uns like Anheuser-Busch, Pepsi and General Motors return for more in 2006, and Procter & Gamble's newly acquired Gillette has a spot, says CNNMoney.

Not everyone's plans are going smoothly though. Go Daddy, the world's largest domain name registrar, has submitted 13 versions of its racy ad, but ABC has apparently rejected all of them, according to Adjab.

Events are another popular way to leverage brands in front of the 86 million reported game watchers. Sprint is sponsoring the halftime show featuring the Rolling Stones. And for the lucky few who are attending the big game, America Online and Comcast have rather memorable sponsorships. AOL is hosting an interactive themepark and Comcast is capitalizing on natural traffic flows ... by taking out all the restroom signage at Detroit's Ford Field.

But according to Clickz, the official, NFL-sanctioned Superbowl.com is also getting strong play as advertisers look to extend their dollars and reach via online campaigns.

Pepsi, Cadillac and Sprint all took this route. And with Superbowl.com revenues rising more than 40 percent over last year, the online biz (and buzz) is increasingly gaining mind share among consumers and advertisers alike.

But it doesn't take banner ads on Superbowl.com, massive event sponsorships or $2.5 million TV spots to get in on the game. White Castle recently launched a creative way to generate Bowl-worthy buzz for its brand with its campaign to make the Monday after the Super Bowl a national holiday. It is collecting petition signatures via www.savedaday.com, a Web site dedicated to the effort.

Finally, a cause we can all get behind.