Super Bowl or Bust?

The Super Bowl is fast approaching. Though I’m sure the Saints and Colts will put on a great show, it’s no secret that a lot of us tune in purely for the advertisements.

There is already a lot of hype and controversy surrounding some ads that are slated to appear during commercial breaks. Pepsi has reportedly  pulled out of airing their commercials during this year’s big game. Two ads in particular have sparked a lot of controversy:

Man Crunch, a gay dating site, has run into problems airing their ad during the Super Bowl.

University of Florida’s football star Tim Tebow’s anti-abortion ad has also sparked highly heated debate.

Though negativity reigns in Super Bowl 2010 ad conversations, one would hope that there are creative, controversy-free ads that just aren’t being talked about yet. This seems like it would be a great opportunity for commercials to integrate social media, since their audience’s attention level is heightened during the show. Super Bowl viewers are much more engaged, even during commercials, and thus might tweet about immediately after ads air or comment about them on Facebook.

So let’s not let the negativity deter us from tuning in; Super Bowl ads rarely disappoint (these comprehensive archives should prove it).