Prestige and worldwide attention, in addition to a desire to increase sales, may be a chief reason to advertise during the Super Bowl, according to a Cornell professor.

Douglas M. Stayman, associate professor of marketing at Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management, who annually reviews Super Bowl ads with the school's marketing club, says having one's commercial aired during the Super Bowl scores many prestige points for a corporation.

"There is much debate inside corporations about whether airing a commercial during the Super Bowl--at $1.3 million per 30 seconds-- makes financial sense," Stayman said. "But what is certain is that these pricey spots attract the world's attention and bring a good deal of prominence and attention to a corporation."

Stayman, who has written widely on audience perceptions of advertising, says commercials aired during the Super Bowl generate almost as much attention as the football game. But the desire to be the most-talked-about commercial on Monday morning has raised the stakes significantly for ad producers and marketers, he said.

"In order to have your commercial stand out above the rest, you need to create a spot that is more spectacular than the one that ran before. The one thing advertisers don't want is their ad getting lost in the shuffle," he said.

Another risk for advertisers is the actual football game. "Advertisers don't want to spend over a million dollars for 30 seconds to have their commercial aired in the fourth quarter of a lopsided game," Stayman said. "If the game fails to be competitive early on, there can be significant fall off in viewership."

Editors: Stayman will be available to speak with the media on Super Bowl commercials at the conclusion of the Super Bowl on Jan. 25. He can be reached at (607) 539-7147.

Although Stayman said the gamble of having your ad run in the fourth quarter could pay off if the game is close. "This would be the best situation for an advertiser," he said. "No one will be going anywhere. The audience will build, and more people will view your commercial."

Stayman said his review of the Super Bowl spots with MBA students will address various issues, such as whether an outlay of $1.3 million for a Super Bowl spot is good business and a good marketing decision. "Some companies spend entire ad budgets on this one event, which doesn't seem like a good strategy," he said. "However, I think making the Super Bowl part of one's ad campaign can be most beneficial."

An example of the probelms that can occur was the McDonald's "shoot out" commercial that depicted a friendly game of H-O-R-S-E, the basketball shooting contest, between Michael Jordan and Larry Bird. It was an ingenious piece of advertising, Stayman said. "One problem, however, was that in initial recall tests, many people thought the advertisement was for Nike, not McDonald's."