Those attract fairly different age and gender groups, says Allan Lindsay, senior director of marketing for salty snacks at Kraft. Nuts tend to be bought by adults 45 and older, while salty snacks tend to be bought by people ages 35-55, and men more than women — just the kind of people who watch the Super Bowl.

"If we really wanted to accelerate our growth, we needed to think bigger," Lindsay said. "We wanted the big platform to get our message out there ... and it's a natural venue to do that."

Lindsay, like many other advertisers, offered hints about his ad, but not the full story line. It will feature men being "drawn" to Planters' nuts, he said.

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Tire maker Bridgestone Firestone North America, another first-timer, is jumping in with two spots and sponsorship of the halftime show. One ad features a car accelerating toward Richard Simmons as he dances on a road at night. In the other, a woman screams as the car she's riding in approaches a squirrel nibbling on an acorn.

Other big advertisers are venturing back to the Super Bowl after long absences. Audi, a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, is coming back to the game after nearly 20 years, with a Godfather-themed spot. And Coca-Cola Co., whose main brand was back in the game last year for the first time since 1998, will have three or four spots this year.

Katie Bayne, chief marketing officer for Coca-Cola Co. in North America, declined to divulge details but said the company is currently testing 11 ads with viewers and will pick a winner to run on game day — a strategy that's also used by Anheuser-Busch Inc., traditionally the biggest advertiser in the game.

Bayne said Coke viewed TV events like the Super Bowl, big NASCAR races and the NCAA college basketball tournament as "critical" for getting the company's marketing message out.

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Another theme cropping up again this year is amateur talent. The NFL itself ran a contest among fans last year to come up with ad ideas, and this year solicited league players to pitch ideas for a spot based on how they got into the sport. Likewise Doritos, which charmed viewers last year with spots made by amateur filmmakers, is running a contest where undiscovered musicians submit video performances of original songs. And Pepsico used its own employees in its Super Bowl ad.

Ratings from the game, being broadcast from Phoenix, are sure to boost News Corp.'s Fox network, which is already well-positioned thanks to football and "American Idol," a ratings powerhouse unaffected by the writers strike because it's not scripted.

Fox is getting as much as $2.7 million for a 30-second a spot, up from the $2.6 million CBS Corp.'s CBS network got last year.

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