Super Bowl ads have become something for fans and marketers to look forward to. Regular viewers and professionals love to critique the ads and share their favourites. And of course there are the controversies, like this year’s Volkswagen ad – The Minnesota man with the Jamaican accent or the Coca-Cola ad – Race across the desert.
Some advertisers have dished out out as much as $4 million for a 30-second time slot. In previous years, these ads were only unveiled DURING the Super Bowl, however, this year virtually all companies have released their ads online in the weeks and days before Game Day. (This has happened in the past 1-2 years, but not to the extent of this year).
It would seem marketers have decided to tap into the power of the internet and social sharing by unveiling their ads in advance. They want to fully capitalize on the attention the ads get during this time of year. And likely they want to get more “bang for their buck” given the huge cost to run the ad during the game.
Looking at a few of the most popular ads, we can see why the companies wanted to share them in advance.
The 2013 Budweiser Super Bowl Ad — The Clydesdales: “Brotherhood” has already gotten 871,843 views (as of this writing). And I’ve personally seen friends share it on Facebook more than a few times.
The Volkswagen Super Bowl 2013 Game Day Commercial – Get In. Get Happy has received 4,704,842 views (as of this writing).
In addition to the massive number of additional views these commercials get when posted online, the companies are able to show a longer version of the ad. Most companies only purchase a 30-second spot (which is expensive enough!), but when posting the ad on YouTube they can be longer.
Curious about this year’s ads? Business Insider has a page showing all the Super Bowl 2013 ads. Check it out and let us know your favourite!
