Super Bowl commercials are big business, no doubt about it. This year’s TV rights holder, FOX, is reportedly seeking $5 million for 30 seconds of airtime. Unsurprisingly, with most companies having already uploaded their game-day commercials to YouTube along with other places, Fox as of Jan. 27 had yet to sell out their commercial slots.
Plenty of advertisers have made previews, and in some cases even their full ads, available online before they air during the Super Bowl on Sunday. Some experts point to Volkswagen’s 2011 ad “The Force” as the one that set this trend in motion.