Football widows rejoice! Well, maybe. The Super Bowl is always massively hyped, and it is so often disappointing. The same can be said of some other things that can’t be talked about too directly on a family-oriented Web site. But whatever happens in this year’s game between the favored New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers, the ad wars that typify the game could bring some relief to certain neglected wives and girlfriends--not to mention their husbands and boyfriends--as Cialis, the erectile dysfunction drug that just gained U.S. Federal Drug Administration approval in November, will air ads on Sunday’s big game. In doing so, Cialis will go head-to-head with Levitra, which will show in-game ads featuring its spokesman Mike Ditka, the tough-as-nails former coach who won a Super Bowl with the Chicago Bears. Industry leader Viagra, made by Pfizer (nyse: PFE - news - people ), will also be advertising during the Super Bowl, looking to retain its dominance of the $2 billion drug category. Cialis, marketed by Eli Lilly (nyse: LLY - news - people ), the massive drug company, and ICOS (nasdaq: ICOS - news - people ), a more insurgent biotech firm (2002 sales: $93 million), will reportedly go with a more direct push. Its ads will feature cuddly middle-aged couples with jazz in the background. The ads will also say what the drug does: It treats erectile dysfunction. They will also, owing to legal requirements, state possible side effects such as headache, stomachache and back pain. Viagra ads, by contrast, have tended to dance around the topic, assuming viewers know what it does--and hinting at the result in terms of the expectant happiness of the newly diagnosed who have been prescribed the pill.
