WEEKLY LAURELS AND LAMENTS

On Super Bowl Sunday, there often is as much excitement about showcased
advertising as there is about showcased quarterbacks and linebackers. This
year, even the White House is getting into the act. According to
Advertising Age and the New York Daily News, the Office of National Drug
Control Policy - the White House drug czar's office - is buying a couple of
30-second spots that tie illegal drugs to terrorists such as Osama bin
Laden. Buy the former, the ads say, and you help bin Laden, who reportedly
engages in drug trafficking to help finance terror. Each ad will cost $1.7
million, a bit of a discount from the nearly $2 million price tag on
30-second Super Bowl spots. But then, ad prices for Super Bowl XXXVI are
down compared with last year, when a 30-second spot went for $2.3 million.
Chalk it up to the recession.