Jay Leno, David Letterman and the Importance of Not Overthinking Everything

(MoneyWatch)  No. I didn't see it live, but I take it from Twitter and my other favorite news outlets this morning that one of the most buzzed about Super Bowl XLIV commercials was the surprise spot (above) in which David Letterman, Oprah Winfrey, and -- OMG! -- Jay Leno all appeared in the same commercial. And there weren't any special effects used to make it appear as though the three were together. They actually were!

The commercial, for CBS' "The Late Show with David Letterman," of course played on all the vicious feuding (particularly on Letterman's part) over what we can call l'affaire Conan O'Brien. But, since the commercial was for Letterman's show, and not about-to-be-no-longer erstwhile rival "The Tonight Show" hosted by Leno, I'm sure some people said of Leno's appearance: "What the hell was he thinking?" (BTW, CBS is BNET's ultimate corporate overlord, though I don't know the powers-that-be any better than you do.)

Ah, but if you thought that, you're entirely overthinking it. Sometimes in business, as in life, it's worth just going with your gut, and this is one of those instances. If Leno hadn't gone with his gut, he'd have succumbed to the thought that he was clearly promoting his rival's show. But on further analysis -- talk about overthinking -- is that really the case?

No. If anything, it's important for Leno and Letterman -- both -- to keep interest in NBC's late-night debacle alive. Doing it in front of over 100 million U.S. TV viewers is a chance Leno may never have over at NBC. In agreeing to appear in this commercial, Leno both telegraphs his general good humor and promotes his own show, at the same time Letterman is promoting his. In fifteen seconds (not counting the commercial's significant hype halo), Leno and Letterman have effectively announced that their late-night clash is back on, starting officially when Leno's "Tonight" returns on March 1st, after it is no doubt heavily promoted during the Olympics. Let the games begin.

Previous coverage of the late night wars at BNET Media:

• NBC Is Flying a Lot of Pilots -- Is It Really to Fill Up Jay Leno Airspace? [UPDATED]
• NBC Affiliates Give Jay Leno Show Ds and Fs As Lead-In to Local News
• Jay Leno Admits He Would've "Preferred" to Stay on "The Tonight Show"
• It's Officially Open Season on "The Jay Leno Show"