The company's creative director, Bob Lachky, tells the San Francisco Chronicle that marketing plans for the game are unaffected by the economic doldrums. In fact, he sees the day as a balm.
"To have fun with friends and family -- that will not change, and in fact, the Super Bowl will be a little island of sanity" amid the tumult, he said.
Thirty seconds spots for the big game are going for about $3 million a pop, with NBC reporting that it's already sold 90 percent of the 67 half-minute time slots.
Among the regular advertisers sitting out this year's contest are FedEx -- an advertiser for the past dozen years -- and General Motors, which will advertise during pre- and post-game events but not during the Super Bowl itself.
