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YouTube starts airing 2014 Super Bowl commercials ahead of the game

YouTube starts airing 2014 Super Bowl commercials ahead of the game

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This year’s Super Bowl might not take place until February 2nd, but that’s not stopping some ads from running early. While Super Bowl advertisers have traditionally surprised the millions of people who tune in for some American football, teasers for television commercials have started going online ahead of the big game in recent years. Today, YouTube is launching its first pregame gallery that currently includes seven teasers for some high-profile commercials that will be broadcast during the game. The ads include teasers from Pepsi, Squarespace, and Doritos.

advertisers aim to secure millions of views before a ball is even kicked

While teasers also ran last year, this time around YouTube users will be able to watch three game day commercials prior to kickoff. The latest teasers join similar ads from Axe, Jaguar, and SodaStream that are already airing on YouTube ahead of the Super Bowl. It might spoil some of the halftime fun, but advertisers are clearly aiming to cash in on the popularity of YouTube. Last year, YouTube users watched ads for the Super Bowl more than 80 million times ahead of the game, with 256 million views in total. Those 80 million views, or a third of the total on YouTube, are an obvious target for advertisers wanting to generate hype for their main slot during the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl commercials typically range from the sublime to the ridiculous. Last year BlackBerry chose to highlight what its Z10 handset couldn’t do, rather than the benefits of its first BlackBerry 10 device. This year Samsung Smart TV owners will be able to purchase David Beckham clothes during the Super Bowl, but there’s bound to be many more stunts that make their way into the integral part of both the game and American culture. After a power outage last year, Oreo’s rapid-response tweet lit up Twitter with a novel approach to Super Bowl marketing. It proved you don’t always need teasers and expensive commercials to win over the masses.