$2.5 Million

Advertisers paid $2.5 million for 30 second spots in the Super Bowl this year.

Smart advertisers made sure they did more than just buy the time by generating buzz before during and after the game via public relations and online strategies to stretch their investment.

Really smart advertisers in the future might consider this scenario:  Budget enough money to buy four 30 second spots - say $10 million - but only buy one spot and donate the rest to a worthy cause.  Then take your one 30 second spot and promote that cause.  The company could start a campaign a week or ten days before the game promoting it through every avenue available to them and continue it right through the game and beyond.

Then imagine what a Super Bowl five years down the road might look like if it started a trend and think of all the good that could come of that approach.  And imagine what the public would think of the companies who took this approach.  And how it would make all the employees of those companies feel.

Who wants to start?