Check It Out:

Think the Super Bowl is only about football? Last year, NBC took in an estimated $213 million from advertisers. Despite the down economy, the 2010 game promises to be just as bountiful for CBS, this year’s host network.

Though a few companies have announced plans to stay on the sidelines, most notably PepsiCo, this year’s roster is filling up quickly with major advertisers lured by the promise of nearly 100 million viewers. CBS has reported that commercial spots for the Feb. 7 contest are selling like giant foam fingers on game day, at a rate of about $2 million to $3 million per 30 seconds of air time.

For those more interested in the so-called Ad Bowl than the Super Bowl itself, HCD Research, a market research firm, will conduct a national survey to determine the best ads.

Survey results will be posted the morning after the game on www.mediacurves.com.

In the “The Billion Dollar Game,” Allen St. John provides an inside view of the greatest marketing event in American sports. The author spent a year reporting on the buildup to Super Bowl XLII in 2008.

Join him as he visits with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman in the broadcast booth, observes as Anheuser-Busch conducts a focus group test of their ad campaign, and tours the state-of-the-art Arizona stadium — built specifically to host the occasional big game — with architect Peter Eisenman.

The book is available at the Newport Beach Public Library. Users of the library might also wish to check out these books on advertising and marketing:

In “The King of Madison Avenue,” Kenneth Roman offers a portrait of one of the most fascinating figures in advertising history, David Ogilvie. A British expatriate, Ogilvie got his start in the London office of Mather & Crowly in the 1930s, was transferred to New York, and opened his own Manhattan firm in 1940. Roman recounts his most successful ad campaigns for high-profile brand names like Schweppes, Dove, Marlboro and Rolls Royce.

James Othmer recalls his 20 years in the advertising industry in “Adland: Searching for the Meaning of Life on a Branded Planet.” Othmer got his start as a copywriter and has obviously retained his yen for the creative side of the business. He describes the thrill of long sessions spent brainstorming for ideas.

After 20 years of engaging in the practice of manipulating consumers to buy products they don’t need, though, Othmer began to worry about the condition of his soul. As a result, much of the book is a meditation on the power of advertising and the role it plays in our daily lives.

In “But Wait – There’s More!,” Remy Stern explores the history of the direct- response marketing business from its roots in the traveling medicine shows of the 19th century to today’s infomercials and home shopping networks. Stern highlights both the lurid and the lucrative aspects of an industry that is larger than the film and music industries combined.

Along the way, the reader learns the story behind the classic products and meets the famous pitchmen of late-night television. Stern’s insights into our desires for tighter abs, instant riches and whiter teeth are right on the money.

CHECK IT OUT is written by the staff of the Newport Beach Public Library. All titles may be reserved from home or office computers by accessing the catalog at www.newportbeachlibrary.org. For more information on the Central Library or any of the branches, please contact the Newport Beach Public Library at (949) 717-3800, option 2.