UNT professor says Super Bowl is going to be dot-com thin this year

If you're expecting to see the parade of dot-com commercials from last year's Super Bowl during this year's game, you may be disappointed, says Leon Kappelman, director of the UNT Information Systems Research Center and associate professor of business computer information systems.

Many of the dot-coms that attempted to make a big splash during one of the most watched events on TV have since failed or are struggling simply to stay afloat.

Kappelman says that of the nearly 20 Internet companies that paid $2 million each for 30-second spots during the Super Bowl, most were either trying to make something out of nothing or were unable to deal with the sheer volume of customers.

He believes many of these companies wanted to appear to have staying power.

"It was a way to look viable," he says. "The Super Bowl advertising is where the big companies play, and they wanted to look like the big guys and told investors and customers what they wanted to hear."

He also says it is difficult for dot-com companies to compete with businesses that already have a physical presence.

"As the big companies like Wal-Mart, J.C. Penney, Home Depot and Office Max established a presence on the web, the dot-coms couldn't compete effectively," he says. "If I need to return something to Wal-Mart, I just go to the nearest store.

"For the legitimate Internet companies struggling to survive, the dot-com debacle and last year's Super Bowl advertising blitz has cost them a lot of credibility," he says. "It's guilt by association - now they must not only be credible but extra credible to get customers or investors."

BY RUFUS COLEMAN rcoleman@unt.edu

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