Marketing and all things related

It's been nine years since the last time Victoria's Secret advertised during the Super Bowl, but in 2008, the brand will make an appearance again with a commercial hyping its Valentine's Day promotions.  The commercial was created in-house and will star model Adriana Lima.  It will air during the Super Bowl and continue through March 11, 2008 on the Victoria's Secret website.

The company's Valentine's Day marketing push will also be launched via a special party to be held the night before the Super Bowl.  An hour-long television show hosted by Ryan Seacrest will also air on February 9th to further promote the Victoria's Secret Valentine's Day promotions.

It's been reported that Super Bowl ad spots are selling for about $2.7 million this year.  Will Victoria's Secret generate an adequate ROI from a Super Bowl ad?  Back in 1999, the Victoria's Secret ad that aired during the Super Bowl promoted the company's fashion show webcast.  Not surprisingly, according to an article on Brandweek, 1.2 million people logged onto the Victoria's Secret website immediately after the commercial aired (before the end of the first quarter).  A few days later when the actual fashion show webcast aired, 1.5 million people returned to watch it.

So here is my question, are the results from the 1999 Victoria's Secret Super Bowl ad skewed?  Were more men who saw the Victoria's Secret ad during the Super Bowl (and who buy less Victoria's Secret underwear and products than women) checking out the fashion show webcast to see models in their underwear or were the consumers watching the fashion show webcast after seeing the commercial during the Super Bowl actually women?  In other words, were the people who saw the Victoria's Secret commercial during the Super Bowl and responded by watching the fashion show webcast really the target audience who actually makes the majority of purchases at Victoria's Secret?  As a publicity stunt, it seems like the ad was successful, but was it successful in driving sales?  I'm not so sure.

Now for the upcoming Victoria's Secret Valentine's Day promotions commercial to air during the 2008 Super Bowl...  I have to ask again if this is the best placement?  Certainly, women watch the Super Bowl and will see the ad, but will enough women see it and respond to generate an adequate ROI based on the $2.7 million pricetag?  Surely some men who see the ad during the Super Bowl will buy Victoria's Secret products for their wives or girlfriends as a Valentine's Day gift, but again, will enough of them respond to generate an adequate ROI?

So what do you think?  Is the Victoria's Secret Super Bowl ad a worthwhile investment?