“Apple has picked up rights to air a Super Bowl commercial on February 4. The rumor is that they’ll use that commercial to announce an three-month exclusive deal to electronically distribute some Beatles music via the iTunes Store,” Blackfriars’ Communications’ Carl Howe writes for SeekingAlpha.

Howe asks, “Now wearing my marketing hat, this raises a question: Does this ad buy make sense from an ROI point of view?”

Howe does the math and decides that there might “be more in an Apple Super Bowl ad than just the Beatles announcement.”

Howe writes, “Assuming it was able to negotiate the rights, Apple will probably announce a Beatles-themed iPod to bundle with the Beatles music, just as it did with the U2 iPods. And given that Apple just talked down iPod projections for the first quarter, that would be a smart way to boost sales during this traditionally slow period — and again surpass analyst projections.”

Howe wonders if even something like that is big enough for a Super Bowl ad, “A Beatles iPod that had all the sexy wide-screen and touch-screen goodness of an iPhone without the phone functions would certainly fit that bill, but I don’t think Apple would be willing to confuse the market quite this soon after the iPhone introduction. Regardless, my bet is that the Super Bowl ad is about more than just adding the Beatles catalog to iTunes.”

Full article here.

Techpwn.com also is reporting that Apple might announce a touchscreen, widescreen iPod during the Super Bowl here.

[UPDATE: This article (originally posted January 19th) is being brought to the top as the Super Bowl nears kickoff.]

Related article:
Report: Apple to announce iTunes Store deal with The Beatles via Super Bowl commercial – January 17, 2007