This year's price tag for 30 seconds of commercial airtime - about $2.3 million - is enough to give even the most hardened advertising executive a bad case of sticker shock. But more than a score of advertisers have coughed up that amount to secure a spot during Super Bowl XXXV, to be broadcast on Viacom's CBS.

For that lofty amount, the advertisers win some of the most coveted and closely watched space in American media. More than 88 million people watched the entire game during last year's football-season finale, making it one of the top-10 most-watched television events in history, according Nielsen Media Research. And the media fascination with the advertising sideshow nearly guarantees extra bang for the buck.

Still, all those eyeballs come at a premium. Super Bowl fans' attention is far pricier than that of other viewers. Thirty seconds of commercial time during the Academy Awards last year, for instance, cost an average $1.3 million. A similar spot during NBC's highly rated show "ER" runs closer to $600,000. Granted, none of those shows command an audience nearly as big as is expected for this Sunday's game.

The results of the Journal/Harris poll should soothe many frayed nerves on Madison Avenue. Nearly three-fourths of those who plan to tune in to Sunday's New York Giants-Baltimore Ravens contest said they will be on the lookout for new ads during the game. That is more people than plan to watch the pregame show, the postgame show or even the usually over-the-top halftime show (which is being produced by Viacom's MTV network this year).

"I love it. It's usually the only time I watch ads and don't switch the channel," one respondent wrote.

The advertisers needn't fear losing too many viewers to bathroom breaks: An astounding 39 per cent of the respondents said they plan to watch every second of Super Bowl advertising. In fact, one-quarter of all respondents said they watch the Super Bowl simply to see the new ads.

According to the poll, the Super Bowl audience members also are likely to be more tuned in to the commercials than the average couch potato. Of those respondents who recalled seeing a Super Bowl ad in the past, 61 per cent said they pay more attention to ads that run during the annual game than to other television ads. A full 50 per cent said they pay attention to all the ads that air during the game.Of course, getting viewers' undivided attention isn't always a good thing.

Sixteen per cent of those who have seen Super Bowl ads before said the commercials are annoying. More than one-third said they have seen Super Bowl ads they found irksome. "Most of the time they are outrageous or stupid," another respondent wrote of the ads.

But a surprising number of respondents conceded that ads from Super Bowls past have had a direct impact on their behavior. Twenty-six per cent said they have visited a Website because of a Super Bowl ad; 20 per cent have been inspired to make a purchase at a store; and 8 per cent were moved to buy something online. Those aren't bad results, considering how difficult it generally is to track advertising's effectiveness.

Overall, the poll's respondents expressed positive reactions to Super Bowl advertising, in general. Sixty per cent described Super Bowl ads as "humorous" and 40 per cent labeled the ads "innovative." Just 8 per cent called the ads "dull and boring."

The biggest hurdle advertisers may be facing: themselves. The commercial clutter during previous Super Bowls left a considerable number of viewers dazed and confused. Nearly one-third of the poll's respondents said there were too many ads during the Super Bowl to remember any particular brand or service.

The Wall Street Journal