RIM girds for big Super Bowl ad

RIM really needs to makes waves, and good ones at that. The company hopes a splashy Super Bowl spot will do the trick.

The long-awaited launch of BlackBerry 10 software, along with the heavily anticipated phones meant to run it, is less than a week away. That hasn't stopped RIM from pushing for more buzz, though. It just distributed communication via e-mail that it plans to run a big-budget ad during the upcoming Super Bowl as well.

Unfortunately RIM hasn't released any teaser footage or even pictures of what we can expect. The mobile device maker made it clear that this announcement is meant more as a heads up to die-hard BlackBerry fans following the company via social media. Frank Boulben, RIM's chief marketing officer, went so far as to claim the company boasts a dedicated audience of 30 million "crackberry" addicts engaged with them across the social media diaspora.

Of course trying to gin up a wave of support via a stage that's as public as America's football uber championship match isn't without risk. If RIM's ad is a dud, or the new BlackBerry products fail to thrill, a big backlash could be in the works. Be sure to check out our coverage of RIM's BlackBerry 10 press event on Wednesday; we'll be there in person bright and early.