However, like Robb, I do believe that a Super Bowl commercial is vastly different than a standard one. One good SB ad can define your whole corporate image. I still remember how monster.com, even as a new web startup, established itself solely by dedicating its entire budget to one SB ad. It was a roll of the dice that really paid off.

Of course, one can name a slew of great ads that really enhanced the corp image of a number of large companies, whether it be the beer ads for Budweiser, or the iconic 1984 ad for Apple.

As Robb notes, a good SB ad isn’t just aired the one or few times that the company pays for; it receives millions in free publicity through news outlets, etc.

In short, an SB ad is not traditional marketing, even though its through a very traditional medium. Properly done, it is something quite unique, and that’s definitely what RIM needs. Now of course, I don’t expect RIM to do this…but I still think it’s an intriguing idea.

However, like Robb, I do believe that a Super Bowl commercial is vastly different than a standard one. One good SB ad can define your whole corporate image. I still remember how monster.com, even as a new web startup, established itself solely by dedicating its entire budget to one SB ad. It was a roll of the dice that really paid off.

Of course, one can name a slew of great ads that really enhanced the corp image of a number of large companies, whether it be the beer ads for Budweiser, or the iconic 1984 ad for Apple.

As Robb notes, a good SB ad isn’t just aired the one or few times that the company pays for; it receives millions in free publicity through news outlets, etc.

In short, an SB ad is not traditional marketing, even though its through a very traditional medium. Properly done, it is something quite unique, and that’s definitely what RIM needs. Now of course, I don’t expect RIM to do this…but I still think it’s an intriguing idea.

A Superbowl commercial isn’t just about the 30 to 60 second spots that you see during time-outs and at half time. It is about all the buzz generated the week leading up to and the few weeks after the spots air.

Think of all the blogs, websites, news sources, etc. that could be talking about “the BlackBerry commercial” before and after the SuperBowl.

Millions of Americans could be talking about how cool the BlackBerry was around the water cooler the Monday after the SuperBowl.

As popular as the BlackBerry is and as strong as the BlackBerry brand is, RIM has a marketing problem when it comes to consumers. They don’t think of the BlackBerry as a cool mobile phone. A good commercial could literally change that perception overnight.

A Superbowl commercial isn’t just about the 30 to 60 second spots that you see during time-outs and at half time. It is about all the buzz generated the week leading up to and the few weeks after the spots air.

Think of all the blogs, websites, news sources, etc. that could be talking about “the BlackBerry commercial” before and after the SuperBowl.

Millions of Americans could be talking about how cool the BlackBerry was around the water cooler the Monday after the SuperBowl.

As popular as the BlackBerry is and as strong as the BlackBerry brand is, RIM has a marketing problem when it comes to consumers. They don’t think of the BlackBerry as a cool mobile phone. A good commercial could literally change that perception overnight.