What recession? The holidays are a distant memory, the stock market is tanking, and people are canceling their summer vacations. But sales for HDTV sets will likely jump in the coming weeks, according to the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association's 2008 Super Bowl Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey.

The survey found that consumers will likely purchase 3.9 million TVs for Super Bowl Sunday. And while that number might seem small compared with the amounts of chips and salsa or cases of beer that will be consumed, that's still a lot of sets. It is also up by 50 percent from the 2.5 million sold last year.

Advertisers should also expect a lot of eyeballs, especially since 36.3 percent of the expected 158 million viewers in the United States tune in just for the commercials. Hey, they don't call it the big game for nothing!

Post by Peter Suciu