RIM set to showcase BlackBerry 10 with Super Bowl spot

Research In Motion is planning to showcase its BlackBerry 10 platform with an ad spot on one of the world's most watched events: the Super Bowl.

The NFL championship game, which takes place on 3 February, has doubled as the premiere event for unveiling new advertisements. With a global audience, companies will often use the event as a launching point for their biggest advertising campaigns.

The sports contest has served as the launching pad for Apple's iconic 1984 and Budweiser's "wassup" meme, among countless other popular ad series.

Rim's ad will come just days after the company launches BlackBerry 10. While early reviews of the platform have been glowing, it has yet to be seen whether the platform will catch on with a fickle user base, and whether the next-generation handsets will be able to fully showcase all that BB 10 has to offer.

For RIM, the TV spot is something of a "hail-mary" (to borrow an American football term.) The company is circling the drain and should BB10 not prove a hit with consumers and business, RIM will likely find itself going the way of Palm and other failed mobile firms.

The game itself should shape up in RIM's favour. The two participants are teams from San Francisco and Baltimore, meaning plenty of viewers will be tuning in from the US tech hubs of Silicon Valley and the Washington DC beltway.

Hopefully, RIM's new campaign will be a touchdown.

26 Jan 2013