In what feels like a billion years ago, I was in sitting in a classroom at the University of Louisville, working my way towards a career in advertising. That was my original goal – until my professor told me about the relentless hours that were required to actually make it in the advertising industry. As a single parent, always volunteering to stay late (without being given any of the credit) wasn’t an option for me.

If you also enjoy the creative mix of advertising, but you opted not to make a career of it, you might find it interesting that some marketers are allowing customers to make their own ad spots for this year’s Super Bowl. Check out the news article, “Jane and Joe get in on Super Bowl ads.”

Let’s face it… the Super Bowl is famous for its commercials, and user-generated content is only growing in popularity. The combination of the two should make for a very entertaining (and marketers hope prosperous) televised event. According to the article, “…some executives believe it can be worth the risk of handing over some control of a $2.5 million commercial in hopes that it leads to an original and buzz-worthy spot.”

Of course, it’s a little too late to participate, but I’ll definitely be tuned in to see which customer-created commercials made the cut. Afterwards, I’ll start a post-Super Bowl blog to see which commercials were favored by TechRepublic members. As always, your input is appreciated.