Bloggers tackle the Super Bowl

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Dot-Com Bowl, now defunct Internet companies including Pets.com and Webvan sought to register on the mass media radar.

Booming e-commerce and a rebound in Internet advertising have created a reversal of fortune for many dot-coms. But online companies have proven reluctant to make expensive gambles on the Super Bowl this year.

America Online, for example, was a first-time advertiser during last year's game, promoting its speedy broadband service with commercials starring reality TV stars from the Discovery Channel. This year, however, AOL has made a "change in its marketing strategy" to opt out of game advertising, according to a company representative. Instead the company will advertise online to promote its Internet poll of the best commercials during the big game.

Not to miss out on the Net's self-publishing craze, the company also will host several big-game blogs, or what it calls "pigskin bloggers."

"As my daddy used to say, 'The proof in the pudding is in the eating.'"

-- Bob Parsons, CEO, GoDaddy.com

Monster.com, a jobs site, has bowed out of the game ads this year after a consistent presence after the dot-com bust. CareerBuilder.com will take its place alongside domain registration service GoDaddy.com as the only two Internet companies advertising. CareerBuilder purchased two 30-second spots, while GoDaddy sprang for just one.

GoDaddy.com CEO Bob Parsons started his own blog in December and has weighed in with a lengthy explanation of the company's decision.

In an interview, he said he'll likely pay less attention to the blogs and more attention to his Web site's traffic following the game, given that the company is advertising to gain registrations for Internet addresses. "As my daddy used to say, 'The proof in the pudding is in the eating,'" Parsons said.

In another technology promotion, Motorola is hosting a first-ever wireless media center. While the cell phone maker is not advertising during the game, it has set up a guerrilla marketing campaign that lets Super Bowl attendees try out Motorola Bluetooth wireless headsets that connect to cell phones.

Intelliseek, via its site BlogPulse.com, plans to monitor the hoopla up to and surrounding the Super Bowl. The company also has recruited 50 enthusiastic bloggers to actively critique the commercials so that it can send a feed to its advertising clients.

"People are now going to the chat rooms and especially the blogs to log their feelings about everything," said Pete Blackshaw, chief marketing officer of Intelliseek, which has worked for brands including Pepsi, Procter & Gamble, Ford, Sony and Gateway. "Why are you spending that much money if you don't know the buzz it builds?"