Advertisers Will Kick Themselves for Skipping Super Bowl XLIV

This year is slated to be one of the few in history when the price of a 30-second ad during the Super Bowl declines, hobbled by the recession and decisions by some top marketers to sit on the sidelines. But 2010, when a 30-second spot is selling for $2.5 million to $2.8 million, compared with $3 million in 2009, may prove a glitch rather than the new norm. According to a new study from San Francisco advertising firm Venables Bell & Partners, Super Bowl commercials not only continue to spur consumer buying, but may influence consumers for much longer time than in previous decades. And that may push up ad rates in future games.