Fill the snack bowls and load up your beverage helmet-- Apple's back in the Super Bowl. Or, at least, they're once again advertising during the Super Bowl (though we bet if you put Steve Jobs on the field, Mr. Reality Distortion Field would be able to persuade the other team that it was in their best interests to throw the game). It was common knowledge that Apple had purchased a commercial slot during the game, and Mac fans across the globe were anxiously awaiting the company's first Super Bowl ad since 1985. Then, disaster struck-- Advertising Age magazine reported that Apple was pulling out of the game, and had told Fox to find a buyer for their slot. There was no explanation for the change of heart, but the most common guess was that some product that Apple planned to unleash upon the world simply was too far behind schedule for the timing to work out. Whatever the reason, Apple was out, and the fans were crestfallen.

Then, a few days later, Apple suddenly issued a press release that reaffirmed their intention to show a commercial during the big game-- and it was to be the HAL 9000 ad, which touts the Mac's Y2K-compliance. You've probably seen it by now-- it was shown during the last Expo keynote, and has since been available in QuickTime format at Apple's web site. Interestingly enough, until the day of the press release, the ad was clearly described as an "Internet-only" ad that was not destined for a television broadcast. Now, however, there's a notice stating that "thousands of emails" begging Apple to broadcast the commercial persuaded them to show it during the Super Bowl.

We at AtAT are thrilled that Apple's decided to advertise after all. We're especially happy that they're showing the HAL ad-- mostly because we've already seen it, so we don't have to sit through the game to catch a new commercial; after all, we've got X-Files tapes to catch up on. But we're just a tad skeptical that Apple is showing HAL just because their fans begged them to do so. Our guess is that they planned some mega-huge commercial that either wasn't done in time, or pushed a product that's not yet ready for prime time. When things fell through, they tried to sell their slot, and perhaps couldn't find a buyer, at which point they decided to go ahead and air HAL. Whatever. In any case, it's nice to see Apple take a chance on broadcasting a commercial that might go over a few people's heads. We're sure that a hefty percentage of the 100 million Super Bowl viewers will recognize HAL 9000, but we can't help thinking that the ad is certainly written more for an Internet audience than for a football one.