In years past, there has been lots of debate over whether Super Bowl ads were worth it. You’re not hearing that as much this year. There is a greater sense this year that for some brands the high price actually pays off. One likely reason is advertisers are doing more and more to make their ads the center of a larger campaign, as opposed to a stand-alone effort. But there are other reasons why the buy makes sense, especially this year. Walt Guarino, who has worked with Super Bowl advertisers and is now president and managing director at Insight/SGW, a New Jersey marketing agency, explains.

In years past, there has been lots of debate over whether Super Bowl ads were worth it. You’re not hearing that as much this year. There is a greater sense this year that for some brands the high price actually pays off. One likely reason is that the pregame hype has gotten louder and louder. Also, advertisers are doing more and more to make their ads the center of a larger campaign, as opposed to a stand-alone effort. But there are other reasons why the buy makes sense, especially this year. Sunday’s game is expected to break a viewership record for the third year in a row, and pricing for the game is rumored to have dipped for only the second time ever, though CBS has not confirmed that. Further, with CBS airing a pregame special about the spots that actually got decent viewership Wednesday night, and dozens of web sites set to replay Super Bowl ads the day after, advertisers have arguably never gotten such widespread exposure. Walt Guarino, who has worked with Super Bowl advertisers and is now president and managing director at Insight/SGW, a New Jersey marketing agency, talks to Media Life about why the Super Bowl is recession proof, why some brands pulled out, and why the Census Bureau’s buy is a real head-scratcher.