WORLD: Analysis - dollars 2.25m a spot but Super Bowl commercials still disappoint.

Fred and Farid find few good ads despite the importance of Super Bowl to advertisers.

Every year, the battle for the Vince Lombardi trophy gives a general outline of American society. We could almost talk about it purely in terms of statistics. American sports commentators don't comment on the game, they merely quantify it. This year there were 62 spots aired and the average cost of a 30-second commercial was dollars 2.3 million.

Is it worth spending so much money on an ad that will be seen only once?

Yes. It's a unique opportunity to reach 40 per cent of the US in one go.

That's a grand total of 138 million people.

American life is all about numbers. The question is always 'how much?' It's an interesting paradox in a country where you can lose the election and still be president.

Who was the first brand this year? Anheuser-Busch, of course, with an exclusive deal to be the only beer marketer until 2006 to advertise during the Super Bowl. Budweiser came up with nine ads, five minutes in total, costing dollars 22.5 million. Question: with the billions of beers that the Americans drink during the Super Bowl, what do you think they do during the commercial breaks? Let's hope they at least got to see the Farrellis' gag of Bud Light's 'good dog'.