BUFFALO, NY -- On Sunday, many will tune into Channel 2 to watch the New England Patriots play New York Giants.Of course, the game is not the only draw. The colorful, funny, creative commercials also bring in people who aren't football fans. This year's ads are helping create what some say is a second-screen Super Bowl.
From a Honda commercial reviving Ferris Bueller, to Careerbuilder and those famous chimpanzees, to a cars.com ad that's creating buzz for being more creepy than funny. Super Bowl ads have been leaking early on social media sites this year. Joe Russell, a social media expert at Traverse Collins and Company, says it's not by accident. "That's where everybody is. That's where all the customers are."
At an average of $3.5 million for a 30-second spot on television, experts say advertisers want more than ever to get some bang for their buck. So they're turning to social media and smartphones.
Viewers will also see more interactive ads. The Audi commercial "Vampire Party" has already been viewed by almost 3 million people on YouTube and ends with the Twitter hashtag #SoLongVampires.
Chevy created the first Super Bowl smartphone app. Viewers download it and get a code. If it matches the code on a commercial, viewers can win anything from a pizza to a car.
GoDaddy.com is the first Super Bowl advertiser to put a QR code on the TV screen.
"So people while they're at the TV can scan the QR code with their mobile phone and be taken to a web site while they're watching the commercials. So that's kind of cool," says Russell.
100 million people are expected to tune into Sunday's broadcast on NBC. But with well over a billion people on Facebook and Twitter combined, it's a goldmine for advertisers if a fraction of those people continue to talk about their commercials days after the Big Game.
"We always preach word of mouth is the best way to market your products or services, so social media is a perfect way to do that," says Russell.
Once again this year, USA Today is keeping track of which ads are your favorite. The voting in the Ad Meter poll starts right at kickoff on Sunday and ends Tuesday. They've teamed up with Facebook this year and you can vote there, too. We've got a link to the poll in "Today's Buzz" section of WGRZ.com.