WebProNews

It’s that time of year again when America unites around the TV, rejoices in capitalism, and stuffs itself silly with food it shouldn’t eat. Ah, the Super Bowl. Preparations are being made, and the Internet is a huge playing a huge part.

The Super Bowl’s a marketer’s dream because it’s one of the few times a year people welcome advertisers into their homes—so long as they’re entertaining. According to comScore, about a quarter of Super Bowl viewers say they prefer the ads to the game.

What used to be multimillion-dollar punt to the masses reserved solely for the living room has become an interactive Web experience. Google’s Paulita David and Eric Lopez say that last year 84 percent of Super Bowl advertisers included a URL in their ads, and 70 percent ran search ad campaigns in conjunction with the TV ads.

Paulita and Lopez recommend to marketers with any peripheral business association with the Super Bowl be prepared to capitalize on the heavy search traffic peaking during and after the game:

“If you aren’t advertising during the Super Bowl, you can still capitalize on the big game. Sports fans will be online searching for highlights, ads and sports swag, so be where they are by uploading your own Super Bowl videos to YouTube or simply advertising next to someone else’s Super Bowl videos. The heaviest traffic will be during and after the game, so you still have time to get out a rich media blast or a MySpace text homepage take-over.”

YouTube would be a great way to gain exposure for one’s company. No doubt the most popular video site on the Web will also be flooded with traffic. YouTube has set up a special channel, called YouTube AdBlitz where voting for the best commercial takes place after the game.

Fans of E*Trade’s talking baby will be happy to know they’re bringing him back this year, especially after searches for the company shot up 1000 percent after last year’s ad ran. They’ve left that kiddo up at YouTube for your enjoyment all year. The outtakes have been viewed millions of times.