With all that being said, is it really worth all those dollars? With the proliferation of social media, ads are now aired in full online before they hit the big screen on game day. If the majority of the audience has already seen the commercials, do brands and companies need to spend the millions of dollars in airing it during the big game?

Moreover, with online media, campaigns and advertisements experience a much longer shelf life. In the past, once the commercials aired, that was it – no revisiting or replaying, no sharing. Now, with the popularity of social media and the ever-growing online video platform YouTube, advertisements live on for days, months, and even years. As such, the success of an ad relies not only on the viewership on game-day, but on the virality of the ad – How many times was it viewed? How many times was it mentioned on Twitter? How many shares did it receive?

In recent years, some of the most successful ad campaigns relied on social media. Nike’s “Write The Future” ad aired during the 2010 FIFA World Cup and relied on a heavy social media/viral push in the months leading up to the championship game. In a twist of convention, Nike isn’t an official sponsor of FIFA World Cup – Adidas is. According to statistics from Wieden+Kennedy (the agency that produced the campaign), Nike generated 40 million + online views of their 3-minute spot, 1.9 billion impressions on Facebook, and their Facebook Fan Page experienced an increase of 336 per cent in Likes. Above all that, Nike captured 30 per cent of the brand buzz – double that of Adidas.

From Dave Thier of Forbes: “A stat like $3.5 million for 30 seconds of airtime may see a serious hit in the future as advertisers realize that the internet can yield just as big an audience as football without having to go through NBC.”

Below, we take a look at some of the 2012 Super Bowl advertisements that have been generating buzz in the past few weeks and offer our own critique of their potential success and virality:

Honda CR-V: Matthew Broderick “Matthew’s Day Off”

Car manufacturers will appear to be taking over our television sets this weekend as commercial after commercial will be turbocharged and performance-inspired. Honda is releasing their newest model of the CR-V and hoping to take us back to our days of bowl cuts and Club Monaco sweaters. Using the clever appeal of the ever popular ‘80s movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, the commercial stars Matthew Broderick as he takes a day off from his acting responsibilities. The commercial revisits memorable scenes from the movie and even ties in a Chinese New Year angle.

For a social tie-in, Honda has a Leap List Facebook app on their Page encouraging users to create a bucket list of activities they want to complete during the leap year. Nothing to note on Twitter besides their official hashtag: #dayoff.

• Our take: Is it memorable? No, there’s nothing humourous or riské and nothing to drive us to pass it on to our friends. Moreover, the entire ad spot has been aired online. Viral success? The ad has been on YouTube for four days and it already has nearly 434,000 views. Chances of me taking a bathroom break when this spot airs on game day? 100 per cent.

Volkswagen: “The Bark Side”

Volkswagen is given top marks in my books for not revealing the entire ad prior to the big game – you’re paying millions of dollars for a 60-second spot, take advantage of it. By producing a commercial for their commercial, VW cleverly leaves us wanting more by peaking our curiousity for what’s to come. The fan favourite The Force from last year’s Super Bowl was a huge hit that attracted nearly 50 million views online and this year VW builds on that with their The Bark Side commercial for a commercial. The dogs bark through Darth Vader’s theme, a.k.a. The Imperial Death March, and that’s it.

• Our take: Unlike the other car commercials we touch on in this post, there isn’t even a hint of a car or a mention of horsepower in this commercial and, ultimately, that’s what the Super Bowl viewer wants: to be entertained. VW gets top marks because they don’t reveal the actual advertisement online, leaving us curious and wanting to view more. Proof of their success: the teaser already has over 10 million hits on YouTube. Above all that, who doesn’t love cute dogs?

Hyundai

As if we weren’t getting enough of car advertisements, Hyundai decides to hit us with five advertisements on game day. Five. The theme of the advertisements is performance and follows a very patriotic American theme. From a man performing chest compressions on his unconscious boss and the stars and stripes forever, to a racing cheetah and the Rocky theme song, the commercials, according to Inside Line (and we couldn’t agree more), are “all over the map creatively.” Of the five commercials, the only one that has Super Bowl potential is the “All For One” ad that scored the coveted pre-kick time slot. With the Rocky theme song and over 200 “actual” Hyundai team members, the ad provides a decent mix of random humour and pop culture appeal.

• Our take: Hyundai should have saved the tens of millions of dollars spent on the five ads. There is little to no social media back-up except for a handful of Facebook video posts and tweets. Their only possible saving grace is the “All For One” spot.

Coca-Cola: the polar bears

The Coca-Cola polar bears are throwing a game day party and they want us to join! Viewing from the comforts of their “snowfa”, the bears will be streamed live on the Coke Polar Bowl microsite and Coca-Cola is encouraging fans to RSVP to the party.

Coca-Cola is appealing to the nostalgia of the brand and bringing out the bears that we have all come to know, love, and associate with the brand. During the game, Coca-Cola will roll out two ads: a 30-second spot in the first quarter introducing the bears and a 60-second second quarter ad that will be a game-time call depending on how the game unfolds on the real-life field.

Moreover, Coca-Cola smartly extends the campaign across digital and mobile with the Coke Polar Bowl microsite. On game day, a live-stream will show the bears on their snowfa, allowing fans to chat with them live during the game. Additionally, rich-media banners will show the bears reacting to the game and the commercials as they play out. Twitter and Facebook will see Coca-Cola writing notes to fans and sending out clips extracted from the live stream. For a social good touch, Coke has partnered with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and is donating $1 to every event RSVP on Facebook.

• Our take: The ads themselves aren’t memorable. While they are cute and have a nostalgic appeal, there’s nothing there to encourage anyone to share it or watch it more than once. Additionally, the ad doesn’t appeal to the target audience – online interactions seem more appealing to younger children than to 18-34 year old men noshing on hot wings and beer. Coca-Cola’s success will lie in their strong social media tie-in with the microsite and the live-stream.

H&M: David Beckham underwear line

In the ad’s YouTube description, H&M claims that he is “sporting various pieces from the new collection.” I don’t know about you, but I really only see one piece.

• Our take: Sex appeal. Done.

Voting opened Jan. 5 and goes to Jan. 31, 2012. Register an account at http://memelabs.com/eat-st/ then vote daily for your favourite video. So far, Hamilton, Ontario’s Gorilla Cheese is leading the charge with 1,164 votes and counting. Which video gets your vote?

Click this image to download the Eat St. iPhone app and discover street eats near you.

Here’s a quick look at all the food trucks who submitted a video to the contest:

CANADA

Gorilla Cheese – Hamilton, ONT, Canada - @Gorilla_Cheese

Guanaco – Vancouver, BC, Canada - @guanacotruck

Soho Road – Vancouver, BC, Canada - @SohoRoad

Twirlees- Chatham, ON, Canada- @twirlees

Puerto Vallarta Amigos – Victoria, BC, Canada - @pvamigos

Fiasco Gelato – Calgary, AB, Canada - @fiascogelato

Westcott Country Kitchen – Didsbury, AB, Canada - Facebook Page

Hot Diggity Dog – Erieau Beach, ON, Canada

Wandering Bean – Toronto, ON, Canada

WASHINGTON

Streat Food – Ferndale, WA - @streatfood

OREGON

Blues City Biscuits  - Portland, OR - @BCBiscuits

CALIFORNIA

Chunk n Chip – All over, CA - @chunknchip

Dusty Buns Bistro – Central Valley, CA - @dustybunsbistro

Red Oven Pizza – Carlsbad, CA - @RedOvenPizza

Bill’s Hotdogs – San Jose, CA - Bill’s Hotdogs Facebook

Sweiner’s Swiss style hot dogs – San Diego, CA – @swienersswiss

Smitten Ice Cream – San Francisco, CA - @Smittenicecream

Bacon Bacon – San Francisco, CA - @baconbaconsf

Soho Taco – Orange Country, CA - @SOHOTACO

Gourmet Rockstars -Palo Alto, CA - @GourmetRockstar

MOEggrolls – Los Angeles, CA - @moeggrolls

ARIZONA

Luncha Libre – Phoenix, AZ - @LunchaLibre

NEW MEXICO

Oz Patisserie - Albuquerque, NM – @ozpatisserie

TEXAS

Mad dog Underground Cafe – TX

Colibri Cuisine – Austin, TX - @ColibriCuisine

Dogellos – Austin, TX - @DOGellos

Way South Philly – Austin, TX - @waysouthphilly

Create Burger – El Paso, TX - @CreateGoEats

49er Kitchen – El Paso, TX

So-Cal Tacos – Dallas, FW, TX - @socaltacos

Ruthie’s Rolling Café – Dallas, FW, TX - @Ruthiesrolling

Jo Dawgs – Dallas, FW, TX - @eatjodawgs

Red Jett Sweets – Dallas, FW, TX - @redjettsweetsFW

The Bacon Wagon – Dallas, FW, TX - @baconwagon

Nammi Truck – Dallas, FW, TX - @nammitruck

The Butcher’s Son – Dallas, FW, TX – @thebutchersson

Crepe Nation, LLC – San Antonio, TX - @crepenationllc

Rickshaw Stop – San Antonio, TX - @rickshawstopsa

Wing Xpress – Houston, TX - @WingXpress

Bernie’s Burger Bus – Houston, TX- @BerniesBurgers

EatsieBoys – Houston, TX - @eatsieboys

MINNESOTA

Messy Giuseppe – St. Paul, MN - @MessyGTruck

Chef Shack – Minneapolis, MN - @chefshack1

TENNESSEE

Memphis Munchies – Memphis, TN - @Memphismunchies

GEORGIA

Hail Caesar – Atlanta, GA - @CaesarTruck

SOUTH CAROLINA

Alfresco Mobilista – SC - @AlfMob

Hello My Name is BBQ – Charleston, SC - @hellobbq

FLORIDA

Aphrodisiac Ice Cream – Miami, FL - @aphorodisiacice

Papas Tapas MIA – Miami, FL - @PapasTapasMIA

PENNSYLVANIA

Fat Boys House of BBQ - Bethlehem, PA - @fbhouseofbbq

Guapos Tacos – Philadelphia, PA - @guapostacos

NEW YORK/ NEW JERSEY

Chef Johnson’s Johnson - Westchester, NY - @johnsontruck

El Diablo Tacos – Brooklyn, NY - @eldiablotacos

The Cinnamon Snail – Hoboken, NJ - @veganlunchtruck

Mamma Marci’s – Hoboken, NJ - @mammamarci

MASSACHUSETTS

Momogoose – Boston, MA - @Momogoose

Go Fish Food Truck, from Brother Trucker – Boston, MA - @BrotherTrucker

There are so many things we love about Tumblr: it’s heavily visual, and can be fully customized (themes, colours, etc).  Another feature we love is the quick and easy follow and reblog friends and influencers.  Tumblr does so much more than just text posts — it allows users to share photos, quotes, links, music, and on. It really does let you share anything effortlessly. We recommend it for first time bloggers or for blogs that need updating frequently and fast.

Tumblr is being taken on by everyone and anyone — and the subject matter ranges from the obscure to the fun to the beautiful or educational.  Top magazines, television shows, architectural design firms and people with quirky hobbies all make use of the platform and fill their niches.  We’ve found some pretty awesome Tumblr accounts that we just had to share.

Check out our picks for this week’s Top 5 fave Tumblogs (including one that’s brand new). The name of the account says it all.

Awesome people hanging out together

Hooray, tiny animals

Dad’s are the original hipster

Burgers and Nails

Food.ee

Food.ee is awesome because it is a brand new product from Invoke. Go to food.ee for your change to win $100 in restaurant gift certificates.

Have a fave Tumblr? Leave us a comment:

When I met Invoke’s CSO, Dario Meli, a few weeks back I thought it was a little ironic for a guy from Boston to join forces with a company from Vancouver. However, I couldn’t be more excited about joining forces with Invoke and heading up West Coast strategy for the team.

I have been in the digital game for awhile now, and I am keen to see who is breaking ranks and doing cool, innovative work. I believe Invoke epitomizes the kind of agility and acumen that every shop should aspire to right now — killer creativity, strategic brainpower, technology-all in one place; not to mention some terrific people.

I have more than 10 years of experience launching digital initiatives in a wide range of industries from financial services, to wireless to automotive. Agencies I’ve worked with include DraftFCB, Ignited, RAPP, Exopolis, WOO Agency, Creative Asylum, and MUSE Communications. I also worked with Kraft, ESPN, Mercedes Benz, Charles Schwab, Honda, Toyota, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and YUM Brands.

My path into digital marketing, brand equity and social media was a curved one. I grew up in Massachusetts with an absolutely misguided aspiration of becoming a professional hockey player. Being a bit of the adventurer, I escaped the wiles of my smallish town and studied philosophy, consciousness and economics in Boston and London. I gave photojournalism a good think, spent about a minute and half in law school and after a brief stint as a copywriter and start-up geek, traveled from Greece to India until I decided that yes, advertising, media and technology was indeed the best possible use of my god-given talent for humor and penchant for wild ideas.

I have spoken at Silicon Valley’s Web 3.0, WebTrends Future of the Web and JDP’s Automotive Internet Roundtable. I’m also a contributing blogger on topics ranging from International Politics to Cyber-Reality and an advocate for Human Rights in Emerging Markets. My first book, The Ask Economy, is due out in late 2012.

I will be sharing my expertise on Invoke’s blog from time to time. Or, find me tweeting @RedPantsMeme.

We considered all these elements while picking our favourite five videos from the first quarter of 2011.

Skittles Touch The Rainbow — Cat video

Skittles produced a series of five ingenious interactive videos. Viewers are prompted to place a finger onto their computer screens and are asked to keep it in place for the entire length of the video. The well known ‘taste the rainbow’ slogan starts off each video and the voiceover consistent with the brand leads you through the videos. One video starts out with a cat licking your strategically placed finger. The cat is then replaced by a peculiar looking man dressed as a cat — who then also licks your finger. Funny and yet mildly disturbing, this video went viral despite the incomprehensible outcome.

Desperados, The Desperados experience. (Tequila flavoured beer)

This video is a great example of stepping out of the box and using interactive cues. The start of the video shows a pulsating door moving to the muffled beat of a party behind the door. To access the party, enter your date of birth, location and whether you’re interested in partying with men or women. (Alas, the video is the same regardless of what information you enter). You head to a kitchen and a pretty girl approaches you and the video pauses to prompt you to connect with your Facbook account. Smart. As the video continues the interaction ramps up:  the pretty girl turns down the volume by reaching her hand over and out of the screen. The viewer also gets to help break down a wall to a better party. Yes, this will make sense when you see it.  The video ends with more prompts for posting to Facebook, inviting Facebook friends or for tweeting. The mystery, intrigue and interactive aspect of the video make it worth sharing and actually fun to participate in.

Altoids, The Altoids Curiously Strong Awards.

Altoids recently launched a brilliant Facebook campaign, complete with a Facebook specific catchy music video. The video describes Facebook stereotypes and gives them humorous names such as the Food-o-grapher, the Like-a-Lot, the Oversharer, the Past Blaster and the Lyric Lover etc. We all know someone that fits the bill. Altoids has really tapped into something and as the company says: ”These distinguished friends can be unusual to say the least; but we love them because they make Facebook wonderful. Their excessive liking and ridiculous wall posts have become our escape from the monotony of the real world. Without these friends, Facebook would just be the local news.” So very true.

‘Pale kid raps fast’

George Watsky can rap and thanks to YouTube, his mad skills spread like wildfire. Watsky has been on YouTube for about three years now but his recent video, ‘Pale kid raps fast’, finally pushed him into viral territory. Uploaded in late January, his video got more than 443,000 views in one night and is now at 8,559,785 views. His video debuted on Billboards Social 50 chart and also resulted in appearances on the Ellen Show and Carson Daly. Don’t forget to press five when you watch the YouTube video for a surprise.

Japan earthquake: CCTV video of tsunami.

The Japan earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 were devastating natural disasters and live footage was all over the Internet. The day following the multiple disasters, YouTube was inundated with homemade videos of the tsunami, topping all of the most viewed charts. The Russia Today YouTube channel posted videos, collectively totalling more than one hundred million plus views. This particular video now has 18,085,0554 views.