Move over Dorrito-chomping super models and Budweiser horses, the latest buyer of outrageously expensive Super Bowl advertising time is the US Government. Washington is spending $2.5 million in an attempt to encourage Americans to participate in the census and that's just a small percentage of the whopping $133 million the entire census ad campaign will cost. (source)

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While this isn't the first time Super Bowl ads have been used to promote participation in the census (the Census Bureau made a similar ad buy in 2000), some question the wisdom of such a major expenditure during current economic times. There are reasonable arguments on both sides of this issue but what angers me the most is that this type of advertising is necessary at all.

Any American who pays the minimal amount of attention to current events knows the what, when and why of the census. The need to hire famous actors (Ed Begley Jr. is featured in the upcoming ads) and pay all the other necessary expenses to produce and air television commercials during any program illustrates how intentionally uninformed far too many citizens have become.

In addition to the Super Bowl ads, the Census Bureau will be purchasing television ad time during the Winter Olympics and Daytona 500 and participating in events such as Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans and Chinese New Year celebrations in San Francisco. It will also be paying for promotional placements on social media sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube.

The unfortunate bottom line is it has become necessary for the government to spend millions of tax dollars on paid advertising because far too many Americans simply refuse to pay attention to anything that is not fun and entertaining. It's the real reason for this most recent $2.5 million expenditure. It's also the reason for so much bad government policy that slips through virtually unnoticed while millions stay glued to the latest reality TV shows, social networking sites or sporting events; refusing to give up just a few minutes a day to get informed about the real world.