Super Bowl Commercial Trend: Get Them Out Early

1:15 PM PST 2/6/2011 by Charlie Amter

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Volkswagen’s ‘The Force’ commercial, ‘Cowboys and Aliens’ trailer are released to build up buzz before the big game.

It’s no longer enough to have a hot 30-second Super Bowl commercial that reaches tens of millions on just Super Bowl Sunday. These days, advertisers and their clients prefer ads that not only resonate game day, but start buzzing a week prior to the event. For a few lucky brands, that’s exactly what has been taking place during the lead-up to today’s big game the past week.

Case in point?

Volkswagen’s ‘Kid Vader’ commercial.

•Super Bowl 2012

Technically titled “The Force” (produced by the Los Angeles office of Deutsch), the commercial for the new Passat has so far racked up a staggering near 13 million views since it was released Feb. 2.

Michael Kadin, creative director at Deutsch LA, told NPR, “These days, it's all about getting the content ahead of the Super Bowl so you create a buzz before you get to the game.”

Early Super Bowl Sunday, the anticipated trailer for Cowboys and Aliens dropped in advance of an airing at the end of the first quarter during today’s super Bowl. The spot features previously unseen footage from Jon Favreau’s film, which stars Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig and Olivia Wilde.

Another ad generating interest via You Tube is Careerbuilder’s “Parking Lot” spot. Yes, monkeys make a cameo in this clip, which was released Jan. 29 and has already received over 200,000 views.

Similarly, homeaway.com dropped an extended version of their commercial airing later today, which features flying babies. The Austin-based website is betting big the ad, beyond the expensive ad buy during the Super Bowl, will live on via You Tube well after the contest plays out. But more importantly, the commercial is generating buzz about the ad before it even airs, albeit with far fewer views than Volkswagen’s spot.