With the Super Bowl just around the corner, I've found myself having similar conversations with brand marketers, agencies technology providers and others -- all ending with a statement something like: "2.5 million dollars for one :30! What a waste! Just imagine what I could do if I could take that money and apply it somewhere else."

So I reached out to a group of industry players, asking them to dig a little deeper and think about what they'd actually do with the money. How would they use it? And why is it a better ROI than a thirty second spot on the Super Bowl? Do they each have a general take, or -- knowing the brands that are likely to advertise -- particular advice for a specific brand?

Here is a partial list of brands currently expected to have Super Bowl ads: American Home, Ameriquest, AT&T, Bayer, Budweiser, Buena Vista, Burger King, Cadillac, CareerBuilder, Coke, Degree, Dove, Emerald Nuts, ESPN, FedEx, Ford, Gillette, GoDaddy, Nationwide, New Line, Pepsi, Pizza Hut, Sony Pictures, Sprint, Subway and Warner Brothers.

I'm pleased to present 28 answers to the Super Bowl questions. As you click through what follows, you should know that we've listed responses by category first and then alphabetically by the writer's last name.

Our industry experts include:

Brand Marketers

• Ian Beavis, VP Marketing, PR & Product Planning, Kia Motors America
• Kirk Iwanowski, SVP, Marketing, Sundance Channel
• Gordon Paddison, EVP, Integrated Marketing, New Line Cinema

  Agencies

• Reid Carr, President, Red Door Interactive
• Sarah Fay, U.S. President, Isobar
• Gay Warren Gaddis, President and CEO, T3 (The Think Tank)
• Jeff Lanctot, VP and GM, Avenue A/Razorfish
• Elias Plishner, VP of Digital Marketing, Universal McCann

  Agencies, continued

• Tony Quin, CEO, IQTV
• John Ragals, Managing Director, 360i
• Doug Schumacher, President/Creative Director, Basement, Inc.
• Mark Silva, Principal and Founder, Real Branding
• David L. Smith, CEO, Mediasmith, Inc.
• Cory Treffiletti, SVP, Engagement Architect, Carat Fusion

  Publishers

• Michael Barrett, EVP, AOL Media Networks
• Aaron Cohen, CEO, Bolt Media
• Cameron Death, Dir., Branded Entertainment & Experiences, Microsoft Corporation
• Mark Friedler, CEO and co-founder of Gigex, Inc./GameDAILY
• Peter Horan, CEO, AllBusiness.com
• Peter Naylor, SVP, Sales, iVillage
• Matt Wasserlauf, President and CEO, Broadband Enterprises

  Technology Providers

• Matt Arkin, SVP Advertising Sales, TACODA
• John Battelle, Founder and Chairman, Federated Media
• Adam Gerber, VP of Ad Products and Strategy, BrightCove
• Jeff Weitzman, President and COO, Coupons.com

  Thought Leaders

• Andy Sernovitz, President, Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA)
• George Simpson, President, George Simpson Communications
• Doug Weaver, President, Upstream Group