Companies Rush to Super Bowl Field

Advertisers are spending an average of $1.6 million for 30 seconds of commercial time in the 1999 Super Bowl, the most-watched event in any year. Anheuser-Busch is the king of Super Bowl spending for the second year running, with nine commercials in the Big Game.

The cost of a 30-second Super Bowl spot has grown 142% from $659,000 in 1990, making the professional football championship the costliest advertising showcase. Advertisers in the game compete hard for viewers’ attention, cranking out spots laden with special effects, celebrities and humorous story lines.

Now here’s your chance to play Monday morning quarterback to the advertising agencies that are producing ads that will appear in the Super Bowl telecast, as well as in the pregame and postgame shows.

After Sunday’s game, let us know what you think of the ads--which were the funniest or most forgettable. Tell us whether digital tricks worked or simply got in the way.

Here’s a sampler:

* American Express: A 60-second commercial with comedian Jerry Seinfeld includes scenes shot on the set of his old TV show. American Express has been using four 15-second teasers to hype the Super Bowl spot. Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, New York

* Anheuser-Busch: A series of ads centering on Louie the Lizard and his ongoing spat with the Budweiser frogs leads the brewer’s Super Bowl advertising lineup. Also, the brewer is considering a spot in which a man paints his dog to look like a lost Dalmatian in order to collect the Budweiser offered as a reward. Agencies: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, and Open Minds, Laguna Beach

* Apple Computer: The 60-second spot to be shown in the first quarter of the game features HAL, the computer from the film “2001: A Space Odyssey.” HAL announces that the Macintosh doesn’t face a Y2K problem. Agency: TBWA/Chiat/Day, Los Angeles

* California Milk Advisory Board: In a 30-second spot using footage from Neil Armstrong’s 1969 moonwalk, disappointed astronauts discover that the moon is not made of California cheese. The spot will be shown in Denver and 10 cities in California. Agency: McCann-Erickson, San Francisco

* Frito Lay: In a commercial introducing Cracker Jack snack bags, a gigantic bag turns up in supermarkets and ballparks. At the end of the 30-second spot, the prize is revealed: a Shetland pony. A college coed played by former Miss USA Ali Landry strolls through the campus library eating Smokey Red Barbecue Doritos. The chips are so hot that the library’s fire alarm and sprinklers are set off. The ads will be shown in the first quarter. Agencies: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, and BBDO, New York

* Honda: Family members represented by lawyers negotiate features of a minivan in a 30-second commercial for the redesigned Odyssey. The ad, which has been on TV before, will be shown in the second quarter. Agency: Rubin Postaer & Associates, Santa Monica

* HotJobs.Com: A security guard stumbles across the online help-wanted service and uses it to find a better job--as a security guard. The 30-second spot will be shown in the third quarter of the game. Agency: McCann-Erickson, Detroit

* Mail Boxes Etc.: A 30-second commercial focuses on gourmet ice cream maker Jeremy Kraus, winner of MBE’s Super Bowl search contest. It is the second time MBE has given free commercial time to a small business. Agency: Kenneth C. Smith Advertising, San Diego

* Mars: Two 15-second ads to be shown in the game’s second quarter introduce M&Ms; Crispy. In one commercial, a talking M&M; avoids being eaten by dirtying itself on the floor. The M&M; avoids a woman’s poolside advances in the second spot. Agency: BBDO, New York

* Monster.Com: Children make ironic comments about their career aspirations in this 30-second ad for the online job search service. One youngster wants to “file all day.” Another wants to be a middle manager. The ad will be shown in the second quarter, the fourth quarter and in the pregame show. Agency: Mullen Advertising, Wenham, Mass.

* National Football League: In a 60-second spot intended as a tribute to fans, 20 uniformed professional football players and Minnesota Vikings coach Dennis Green leave the locker rooms to meet fans in grocery stores, diners, beauty salons and their homes. Agency: In-house

* Philips Electronics: A twentysomething man drives his date into a driveway, and the garage door opens to reveal a 64-inch high-definition TV. Using his remote, the man flips on the $10,000 TV, which displays a clip from the film, “Austin Powers.” The 30-second spot will be shown in the second quarter. Agency: Messner Vetere Berger McNamee Schmetterer, New York

* Pizza Hut: The fast-food restaurant chain is expected to weigh in with a 30-second commercial showing real estate mogul Donald Trump being served pizza aboard an airplane. The pitch is for Pizza Hut’s Big New York pizza. Agency: BBDO, New York

* Progressive Auto Insurance: The official halftime sponsor pitches its roadside claims service in a 30-second spot that includes advice from E.T. about using seat belts. Agency: Arnell Group, New York

* Victoria’s Secret: The lingerie marketer will make its Super Bowl debut with a 30-second spot that invites football fans to log on to its Web site (https://www.victorias secret.com) for a Wednesday fashion show featuring 20 top models, including Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum and Laetitia Casta. Agency: Resource Marketing, Columbus, Ohio

* Volvo trucks: A truck driver operating a Volvo VN series truck drives through a small town and is warmly greeted by town residents, who gesture the trucker to honk his horn. The 30-second ad will be shown in the first quarter. Agency: Carmichael Lynch, Minneapolis

* World Wrestling Federation: The WWF produces a parody of itself called “A Day at the Office,” in which one wrestler hits another over the head with a chair while mayhem explodes around him. The spot will run during the third quarter. Agency: In-house

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Comments will be published next Thursday in the Advertising & Marketing section.

Compiled by Times staff writers Denise Gellene and Greg Johnson.