Madonna's Vogue Ad During the Super Bowl Was Free

As far as shows go, Sunday night's Super Bowl halftime bonanza was a pretty fun one, what with gladiators, glitter, and all that weird 3D stuff happening to the field.

As far as shows go, Sunday night's Super Bowl halftime bonanza was a pretty fun one, what with gladiators, glitter, and all that weird 3D stuff happening to the field. It also featured M.I.A. flipping off the world and Cee Lo Green singing. But at the center was Madonna being Madonna, and a highly orchestrated and fairly clear plug for Vogue. What's up with that?

According to Women's Wear Daily's John Koblin, "It turns out this had been coordinated for some time... Madonna's team contacted Wintour and the magazine in early January. Vogue, which has a longstanding relationship with the pop icon, immediately cooperated and authorized the use of its trademark. There was no charge." Wow, that's pretty cheap for a Super Bowl ad! How much did everybody else pay? Much more than zero dollars. It's also about $325,000 less than the fine from the Federal Communications Commission that NBC could face for M.I.A. giving the finger to American football fans, and -- let's face it -- the advertising industry.