Super Bowl ads tackle social media

Krystal Peak · February 6, 2012 · Short URL: https://vator.tv/n/241c

Early release, streaming online, hashtags and social voting have changed what Super Bowl ads are

Now that Super Bowl XLVI is another moment in sports history, people have taken to Twitter and other social media to weigh in on what advertisements knocked their socks off which ones left them crying, 'Next!"

This year's record breaking $3.5 million average per commercial paid by brands left Super Bowl viewers curious just what could advertisers have up their sleeves with such hefty price tags. In order to get the most bang for their bucks and push the chances of going viral, many companies enlisted hashtag tie-ins, second screen complimentary campaigns and even released their commercials online before the game.

A Facebook Admeter application has connected most of the advertisements and their corresponding companies so that people can instantly vote on their favorite ads on the biggest social networking site and see wheather the nation agrees with their opinions.

Big name brands such as Audi and Pizza Hut used the power of the hashtag to gain instant feedback on Twitter surrounding their new Super Bowl commercials (#SoLongVampires and #Thatsalotofpizza, respectively.)

Incorporating Twitter into these big water cooler events is just becoming second nature since people are flocking to the microblogging site to share their real-time responses to world events. According to Twitter, the last three minutes of the Super Bowl game on Sunday recieved the highest tweets per second for an English language event, equating to 12,233 each second. The second highest was during Madonna's performance at halftime, with 10,245 tweets per second. With this kind of volume it is easy to see just how much social media is a part of any event that people are watching at the same time.

This year was the first year that marketers and online streaming video platforms (such as YouTube and Hulu) got in on the action this year by offering places where all the advertisements for the big game would be cataloged and streaming in real-time as well as made available for later viewing, commenting and voting for favorites.

This looks to be the new way to experience ad campaigns, with the public instantly being able to vote and provide feedback so that marketers have time to adjust before the next round of ads air.

This concept of watching Super Bowl advertisments before they air on game day is a wildly controversial and unusal concept since, in years past, the content of these commercials was highly secretive and gave people a reason to really pay attention between the plays. But now it appears that it is more critical to be a conversation starter and gain online viral traction than air for the very first time during the biggest game of the year.

While the numbers haven't come in just yet, all accounts say that this year's game and commercials will break viewing records. And just as one of the commercials about the NFL depicted, the game of foot ball is evolving and so must the way we consume and interact with it.

In case you missed any, or just want to rewatch them -- here are 10 of the best commercials of this Super Bowl.

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