Bridgestone Americas, the sponsor of the Super Bowl halftime show since '08, has "reached out” to the NFL and NBC over the behavior of rapper M.I.A., who “blurted out an obscenity and raised her middle digit on screen during Madonna's halftime concert,” according to Brian Steinberg of AD AGE. A Bridgestone spokesperson said that the company has “received complaining emails from ‘multiple different venues’ and had reached out to the sports league and the broadcaster to discuss possible solutions.” NBC and the NFL have “already issued statements of apology, with the NFL saying the incident was ‘inappropriate’ and NBC acknowledging its delay system for obscuring or blocking out such action failed” (ADAGE.com, 2/6). The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER’s Eriq Gardner noted various broadcast lawyers said that NBC is “unlikely to face any fines over M.I.A.’s act” (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 2/6). The WALL STREET JOURNAL’s Schatz & Stewart note if the FCC “found that NBC broke indecency rules, each NBC affiliate that aired the Super Bowl could face a fine of as much as $325,000.” That could amount “to millions of dollars for NBC itself, but only if regulators apply the maximum penalty.” NBC would “pay the fines for the stations that it owns directly” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/7).

MAKING A NAME FOR HERSELF: ESPN.com's J.A. Adande said, "If you’re going try to maintain some type of relevance to what’s going on ... try to hire people that maybe everyone has heard of so they can’t benefit. I’m sure people weren’t talking about M.I.A. to the degree they are now before this incident, so she made a name for herself” ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 2/6). ESPN’s Dan Le Batard said this is good publicity for M.I.A., because the Super Bowl “doesn’t allow young people near its halftime stage" ("Dan Le Batard Is Highly Questionable," ESPN2, 2/6). ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser said of M.I.A., “I understand she’s British and it seemed that this was deliberate and planned in order to make herself famous in America. You know what I would do? I would deport her” ("PTI," ESPN, 2/6).

PROS & CONS TO HALFTIME SHOW: In Atlanta, David Markiewicz noted Madonna “actually got paid nothing” to perform at halftime. Getting a chance “to display your talents and everything else in front of so many viewers on TV and at the stadium is considered such a potential career boost that performers are willing to do it for free.” Madonna, like “other top performers at the Super Bowl, also received countless perks including transportation and set-up costs, which could run into the millions.” Markiewicz wrote it is “such a good deal, in fact, some entertainers might be willing to actually pay to get up there and perform” (AJC.com, 2/6). Denver Post columnist Woody Paige said, “I have attended the Grammy Awards. They don’t stop it in the middle and have a football game for 25 minutes, so why in the world are we doing this? ... I think it’s time to end the halftime show” ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 2/6). CBSSPORTS.com’s Ray Ratto wrote if the NFL “wants to save itself from even this tepid level of annoyance while making the halftime show something people would actually watch and talk about the next day, it's time to get rid of the music entirely.” It is “dated, bland, lip-synched nonsense by people and bands that only appeal to 50-year-olds in denial about being no longer being hipsters.” He instead recommends having a comedian perform (CBSSPORTS.com, 2/6).

The NFL indicated that retail sales of licensed Super Bowl XLVI merchandise "could exceed $200 million this season," and might "reach a record, as local stores struggle to keep up with demand following the Giants' win Sunday," according to Keiko Morris of NEWSDAY. NFL Senior VP/Consumer Products Leo Kane said, "We had a strong playoff, and the Indianapolis market responded bigger than we've ever seen. And the biggest market in the country won the Super Bowl, so that has the makings of being the biggest ever." Morris notes Long Island retailers "described the local response as 'phenomenal.'" The Sports Authority in Bohemia "has sold out of $30 Giants Super Bowl championship caps three times since the victory." Modell's Sporting Goods said that at its stores on Long Island and throughout the New York metro area, "sales of Super Bowl merchandise have been building since the Giants' NFC Championship Game win two weeks ago" (NEWSDAY, 2/7). In New York, Michael Randall notes long- and short-sleeved championship T-shirts "like those worn by Giants players in the locker room after the game were in demand." Hats were the "most popular souvenirs -- specifically, two baseball-style caps: gray ones celebrating the latest championship, and a blue model hailing the Giants as four-time Super Bowl winners" (Middletown TIMES HERALD-RECORD, 2/7). In New Jersey, Charles Webster reports the Modell's store in Brick, N.J., had "reopened at 10 p.m. Sunday following the Giants' fourth Super Bowl victory." It stayed open "until 2 a.m. Monday, and opened its doors again at 7 a.m." (ASBURY PARK PRESS, 2/7).

BUSIER THAN BLACK FRIDAY: Elizabeth Kreher, the Soft-Line Manager at the Dick's Sporting Goods in East Brunswick, N.J., yesterday said, "Everything we had last night sold out. It's like Black Friday, Memorial Day and Father's Day rolled into one." She added that the Super Bowl championship caps "are the most popular item." The store by yesterday afternoon "had received two more shipments of Giants Super Bowl merchandise, and a few more shipments were expected later in the day" (MYCENTRALJERSEY.com, 2/6). In Connecticut, Vinti Singh cites an employee at the Dick's Sporting Goods location in Danbury as saying the store "got its Giants championship clothing about three days before the Super Bowl." Dick's Senior Community Marketing Manager for the New York metro area Jerry Copsinis said, "We'll be getting shipments really every day for the next couple of weeks." A Modell's employee in Stamford, Connecticut said that people "crowded" in the store when shipments were expected to come in yesterday. Although Modell's was "sold out of hats by midday Monday, they had plenty of other merchandise" (CONNECTICUT POST, 2/7).

NFL Giants QB Eli Manning’s “appeal among advertisers is expected to soar” after winning his second Super Bowl title on Sunday, and marketing experts indicated that “could translate into millions of dollars worth of additional endorsements,” according to Susan Todd of the Newark STAR-LEDGER. Engage Marketing President & Chief Solutions Officer Kevin Adler said of Manning, "His marketability increases exponentially and immeasurably, and by that I mean there’s no limit to the upside. He’s an incredible commodity." Marketing Evaluations Exec VP Henry Schafer, whose company’s Q Scores measure consumer appeal of athletes and other personalities, said that Manning’s familiarity rating is “likely to get as much as a 30 percent boost from his Super Bowl performance and the anticipated onslaught of postgame publicity.” Manning reportedly earned $7M "in endorsements last year.” Schafer predicted that Manning’s endorsements were “likely to climb into the double digits, rivaling” his brother Colts QB Peyton Manning’s $15M in endorsements and Patriots QB Tom Brady’s $10M (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 2/7). AD AGE’s Rich Thomaselli noted now that Eli “has separated himself from Peyton in Super Bowl rings, experts say he'll do the same when it comes to endorsements.” Adler said Eli “goes to the next level as an endorser." Thomaselli wrote that Eli “plays in New York is certainly a bonus for his marketing career, but he has yet to demonstrate Peyton's charisma” (ADAGE.com, 2/6). Baker Street Advertising Exec VP & Exec Creative Dir Bob Dorfman said, “He’ll never have to settle for a six-figure deal again. It’s seven figures or nothing” (USA TODAY, 2/7). On Long Island, Neil Best noted Eli Manning yesterday left Indianapolis “in a private plane after a morning news conference, and by early afternoon, he was riding with Mickey Mouse in a Disney World parade.” He then left Florida for N.Y. and taped David Letterman's show “in the early evening” (NEWSDAY, 2/7).

LET'S SALSA! ESPN.com’s Kristi Dosh wrote Giants WR Victor Cruz on Sunday “ruled social media.” Twitter’s official Super Bowl tracker found that Cruz “led Manning in Twitter mentions most of the game, although Manning took over once the game ended.” Dosh asked, “So will that end up being simple trivia for Cruz, or could the buzz lead to more endorsements?” Burns Entertainment & Sports Marketing President Doug Shabelman: “If you’re making clutch catches game in and game out through the playoffs and the end of the year, you’re going to become marketable and have that recognition factor right away.” Shabelman “isn’t aware of any national endorsements for Cruz going into this season, but thinks he could get some now” (ESPN.com, 2/6). Meanwhile, IMG Worldwide yesterday formally announced it will handle endorsements, speaking engagements and other marketing for Cruz, with IMG VP Carlos Fleming representing him (IMG Worldwide).