Two recently approved pills designed to help guys score big in the bedroom will compete for penis supremacy during Super Bowl XXXVIII between the Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots.

Newcomers Levitra and Cialis have each purchased 60 seconds of air time during the game, which kicks off on CBS about 6:30 p.m. According to Ad Age, industry leader Viagra will also keep up with the Johnsons and purchase a 30-second spot, purchasing a spot.

At roughly $2.3 million a pop for a 30-second ad, drug-makers are expecting a lot of bang for their buck. And with an estimated audience of between 80 million and 90 million, including 50 million men - not to mention the pay-per-view "Lingerie Bowl" at halftime - this game might well be remembered as the Weenie Bowl.

"Whenever you're talking about launching a product or creating a buzz or getting the biggest splash, you go to the Super Bowl," said Dana McClintock, spokesman for Viacom, which owns CBS.

"And with that, the ads become part of the public discourse of the game, and you get the water-cooler effect."

Discussing "E.D." used to be taboo on national TV or at the water cooler.

Then a few years ago, former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole broke through with a series of plugs for Viagra, the Pfizer drug that was the first to receive FDA approval in the United States six years ago and controls roughly 80 percent of the market.

As a sign of loosening times, Dole even spoofed his own ad the following year, while doing a spot for Pepsi that featured pop star Britney Spears gyrating like a lap dancer at a strip club. At the end of the ad, the camera cut to Dole, sitting in front of the television with a golden retriever.

"Down, boy," he says.

This year, the competition is stiff.

CBS reportedly even turned down an ad from the radical animal-rights group, PETA. It allegedly argued that eating meat causes impotence.

Not surprisingly, the secrets of the competing E.D. ads have been guarded more closely than a Super Bowl playbook.

Pfizer officials did not return calls on Viagra and the Super Bowl. But Dole confirmed in a recent interview that he would not be back.

"It didn't come up," he quipped.

Still, corporate officials for both Levitra and Cialis on Thursday offered a few clues on what to expect.

Levitra, which claims a faster-acting time and does not need to be taken on an empty stomach, will air two spots - a 45-second ad followed by a 15-second ad in the first half of the game.

Former Chicago Bears Super Bowl coach Mike Ditka will return in the drug ads, whose mantra has been "Get in the game."

Explained David Pernock, senior vice president of GlaxoSmithKline, which makes the drug with Bayer, "It's going to have a nice light-hearted, humorous approach, high entertainment value.

"Something that breaks through the clutter," added Pernock, who promised the new spot would be "Ditka with a twist."

As an NFL sponsor this year, Levitra had already established a name among football fans - and Eagles fans in particular.

Before each home game at Lincoln Financial Field, players entered the stadium through a giant, inflatable tunnel tattooed with the Levitra logo, spurting out onto the field like so many green-helmeted sperm. After the player introductions, the tunnel swiftly deflated and was dragged off the field.

"We want men to take the Levitra challenge," said Pernock, describing the second ad. "To step up and talk to their doctor about it."

By contrast, Eli Lilly-Icos, maker of Cialis, plan to take a much more sober approach to introduce its product, which just received U.S. approval in November and claims effectiveness for up to 36 hours.

The company will air one, informational 60-second ad in the second half voiced over couples snuggling in the kitchen, at an espresso bar and watching a sunset at the beach.

"Our ad will focus on a couple's intimate relationship in a normal day-to-day setting," said Khoso Baluch, executive director of Eli Lilly. "Our message is `pick the time that's right for you.' "

"The Super Bowl to us is a beautiful place," he said. "Forty-five to 50 percent of our target audience watch the Super Bowl."

But so far, only 13 percent of the 30 million men who suffer from E.D. seek treatment. Drug-makers believe exposure in the Super Bowl will make the numbers rise.

"I believe the American public has made quite a bit of progress from where we were five or six years ago," said Baluch. "But there's still a lot of room to grow. "

If the game turns out to be as boring as most Super Bowls, even the ads could get ignored. At halftime, people could well cough up $19.95 for the soft-porn Lingerie Bowl, which will feature sexy models playing full contact football in lacy bras and panties, an E.D. test unto itself.

Of course, the Eagles would have been a much more potent choice for the local men who plan to watch the game - guys who are at the very least suffering from depressed spirits.

But alas, the Birds suffered from the same ailment that afflicted them in the two previous NFC Championship games. One that all the little blue, orange and yellow pills in the world can't cure:

Performance anxiety.

Source : http://www.mercurynews.com