At three million bucks for thirty seconds, a Superbowl TV ad represents a huge investment for a brand. And yet it’s also one of the best deals certain brands can get: a guaranteed huge audience for a cultural event where viewers actually pay attention to the commercials. Of course our expectations are invariably too high but still, once a year, this is advertising’s big dance.

One way to amortize such a huge investment is to pre-release your spot.  It takes away the surprise for a good percentage of your audience, but it helps build word of mouth. And that’s exactly what Volkswagen has done with this :60 (yes, that means a six million dollar spend) that introduces the 2012 Passat. It’s a charmer, and it’s already racked up over 3,000,000 views on YouTube. Doubt it would have done that if it weren’t part of the big game line up. Anyway, enjoy this and the rest of it’s cohorts when they all show up on Fox Sunday night.

Oh, and as to that game, consider: Bart Starr won his first Superbowl for the Packers when he was twenty-seven. Bret Favre won his first Superbowl for the Packers when he was twenty-seven. This is Aaron Rogers first Superbowl.  And he’s twenty-seven.

Just sayin’…

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By Dennis Ryan, CCO, Element 79

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