As many of us find a spot in front of our televisions with a six-pack at our side and junk food scattered around on Super Bowl Sunday, the game of football is only part of the reason millions tune in. For some, the real entertainment comes from the commercials that run during the game.
According to The New York Times, this year's commercials will cost advertisers nearly $2.6 million for 30 seconds of airtime. Viewer expectations remain high for advertisements because of the high price tag on airtime.
""Viewers don't sit dumbly in front of the set soaking up corporate propaganda while waiting for their show to return. They now want to be entertained during the commercial breaks as well as the shows,"" said UW-Madison media professor Michael Curtin.
In previous years, some of the funniest commercials have been for beer. Think of the 1995 advertisement for Budweiser frogs which featured three methodically croaking ""Bud ... weis ... errrr"". The action is simple, but the catchy phrase is still remembered.
Budweiser scored hits with other catch phrases such as ""Wasssssabi,"" ""Wassup"" and ""What are you doing?""
In a Super Bowl XXXVIII Bud Light commercial, a coach yells at a referee, and the announcer says, ""How does he train for that?""
The camera then cuts away to the ref being yelled at in his home by his wife in the same manner. Not advertising the features of the product is typical of beer commercials. They are meant to entertain viewers, and at the end they throw on a product or brand name.
Another tactic is to air a series of commercials that are a continuation of action in order to build up on an idea with which they can create more ads.
For instance, commercials featuring Cedric the Entertainer show him constantly trying to show off in a smooth way but always regrettably failing. Throughout the series, viewers don't know what the ads are for. It isn't until the finale in which Cedric shows off with a beer that viewers understand what the ad is promoting.
The Cedric commercials exemplify another idea that beer companies use when advertising--the use of celebrity endorsements to make a product appear hip.
""Word-of-mouth about a funny commercial is a powerful way to pass along impressions that one's brand has a hip sensibility,"" Curtin said.
It works because these commercials create an experience to which most of the audience can relate. Yet, the reason they become a deeper part of our culture is the wittiness that the advertisers use.
Perhaps Budweiser's most famous commercial is the Bud Bowl, which aired in 1989. The Bud Bowl was first in a series of commercials featuring animated Bud Lights playing against Budweiser bottles in a football game. A reader poll conducted by ESPN.com names this as the second best Super Bowl commercial ever.
This year Budweiser is again refocusing the content of its commercials from catchy phrases to action.
For this year's commercials, SuperBowl-Ads.com reports that Budweiser has created an apocalyptic commercial with Dale Earnhardt Jr. that uses ""fire-bombs, high-speed car chases, stunt jumps and helicopters.""
Budweiser is taking even further steps by creating Bud TV, a website that will re-air all of their commercials plus more comical content. Any logo, song or clip that Bud shows off during the commercials can be downloaded.
People can now also search commercials that haven't even aired. Search for banned beer commercials on any Internet video source and results will come up. Most of them either have too much sexuality or violence to be viewed by such a massive audience.
The reaction to beer commercials goes even beyond the game itself. Super Bowl commercials have become a part of our culture.
Beer companies now create additional content, never before seen footage and outtakes on their websites designed for the Super Bowl commercials.
""Super Bowl ad prices are high because it is one of the few truly mass experiences left in American popular culture,"" Curtin said. So this year if you have to go to the bathroom during the game, go before the commercials start.
