Computer.com assets sold after big-spending ad campaign

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SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Super Bowl viewers this weekend won’t be seeing any more television commercials for online retailer Computer.com.

On Friday online computer direct-marketer 4Sure.com Inc. announced it will acquire for an undisclosed amount all assets of Computer.com, a 1999 start-up that spent about half of its $5.8 million in seed money to advertise on television during last year’s Super Bowl game.

The Maynard, Mass.-based computer retailer only managed to build a customer base of only 40,000 despite its big spending on three commercial spots during the 2000 Super Bowl, the most expensive and widely watched venue on U.S. television.

Bruce Martin, CEO of Trumbell, Conn.-based 4Sure.com, said in a statement that Computer.com’s 40,000 consumer names will help round out his privately held company’s customer base, which also includes mid-sized businesses, government agencies and schools.