Watching Super Bowl commercials during, y’know, the Super Bowl sucks. Ad breaks are when you pee, grab a beer, or fill up your plate with another slop of pulled pork; they’re for anything but actually watching ads. But during the Super Bowl, you feel obligated to stick around, for fear of missing out on the one commercial that makes Twitter explode. It’s dumb and it’s true, but we do have some good news: you can watch most of Sunday’s ads now.
Advertisers have wisely learned to release their clips online early, so the $4 million they spent doesn’t immediately come and go in a 30-second span, lost in a sea of puking Clydesdales and Peyton Manning’s forehead. Below, you’ll find a list of every company with a Super Bowl ad on Sunday, and either the ad itself, if it’s out, or a description of what to expect, if it’s not. The clear winner so far: Terry Crews and the Muppets. Terry loves Muppets.
Audi
Axe
Bank of America
What to expect:
The commercial will feature Bono and the rest of U2 performing a new song called “Invisible,” which will be available free on iTunes during the game and over the next 24 hours. Bank of America said it will donate $1 for every download in that time, up to $2 million. (Via)
Beats Music
Budweiser/Bud Light
What to expect:
Two celebrity-filled Bud Light ads, a 60-second spot and a 30-second spot, will introduce a tagline, “The Perfect Beer for Whatever Happens”…Teaser ads on TV and online promised appearances by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Don Cheadle and comedian/musician Reggie Watts. Another 30-second Bud Light spot in the game’s first ad slot will promote a new aluminum bottle. One 60-second Budweiser ad will bring back the Clydesdale trainer from last year’s well-received “Brotherhood” commercial and spotlight a bond between a Clydesdale and a puppy. The other Budweiser spot, the now-60-second long “Hero’s Welcome,” will pay tribute to soldiers returning from Afghanistan. (Via)
Butterfinger
Carmax
Cheerios
Chevrolet
Chobani
Coke
Doritos
What to expect:
Two 30-second spots chosen through the “Crash the Super Bowl” contest, back for the eighth year in a row but open for the first time to entries from people in all 46 countries where the chips are sold.
[Here are the five finalists.]