Following Super Bowl Sunday this Jan. 26, Douglas Stayman and his marketing students at Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management will huddle to discuss what's behind the game plans of this year's biggest advertisers.

The post-game analysis has become a tradition at the Johnson School, says Stayman, an expert on advertising patterns. Each year during the week following the game he guides a discussion in which students determine whether the companies that invested in Super Bowl spots made good business and marketing decisions, and whether the ads were effective.

Stayman's pre-game analysis this year? Super Bowl ads will continue to sell better than last year because "demand for advertising has increased across the board, boosted by specific industries such as automobile as well as some optimism among companies about the economy." The 30-second spots now sell for $2.1 million on average, up by more than 10 percent from last year and about even with Super Bowl 2000 prices.

Traditional companies, such as Anheuser-Busch, PepsiCo and major film companies, continue as the biggest advertisers, Stayman observes, because "these are the folks who have longstanding reasons to spend large sums to launch or promote a product on the Super Bowl." Another major player this year is AT&T Wireless, building on last year's involvement.

A Universal Studios ad showing the first computer-animated image of the Hulk will build interest in the movie about the Marvel comic book character, to be released later this year.

Like last year, entirely Web-based companies remain nearly out of the game, one exception being the job search firm Monster.com. However, many Super Bowl ads have Web-based components, Stayman notes. For example Levi's, which will launch its Type 1 Jeans Gold Rush campaign with a Super Bowl spot, is continuing the campaign on Levi.com, with clues on its secret hiding place for the world's most valuable pair of jeans (finders will win big bucks).

Nevertheless, Stayman advises companies to keep weighing whether airing a commercial during the game makes financial sense. "While Super Bowl ads do attract a huge audience, less money spent over time, or in other vehicles, may be a better investment for many firms," he says.