The Dumbest Night for Brands? It's Still the Super Bowl

JONATHAN SALEM BASKIN The mostly sold-out spots are commanding just south of $4 million each, so CBS must be thrilled. Brands are spending additional dollars executing pre-event, cross-platform promotions, like Pepsi crowdsourcing photos that will be glimpsed during Beyonce's halftime show. The media, this outlet included, are gladly covering all this as if it makes inherent sense, and gearing up to measure the opinions of viewers to confirm those beliefs once the ads air.