Sure, a minute of Super Bowl air time is the equivalent of a rounding error for Google, but plunkin’ down the cheddar to put some distance between themselves and Bing may not be a bad play. I’ll have to dig into some data and figure out how much GOOG’s search market is being eroded by Bing, but I’d venture to guess pulling the trigger on a Super Bowl advertisement is a good sign that Bing is gaining ground a little too fast for Big G.

Also worth noting: this video has been available for free on YouTube since November 19, 2009. It currently has 1,868,941 views. According to Nielsen ratings, 106.5 million people watched Super Bowl 44, making it the most-watched television event in history.

Money well spent.