Ready, Set, AdBlitz: Super Bowl Ads Go Early and Digital

When it comes to the Super Bowl, football may come first, but the commercials are a very close second. In fact, once the Super Bowl is over, ads dominate the majority of the post-game conversation.

So, where can you watch all the commercials you missed during the Game Day party? Well, YouTube of course.

Over the last decade, YouTube has changed the way we watch Super Bowl commercials by hosting their annual “AdBlitz” – a dedicated YouTube channel where users can watch, vote and share their favorite brands’ Game Day ads.

The one stop shop allows brands to show off their Super Bowl ads to viewers before, during, and after the game, and even invites users to vote on their favorites. Voting begins immediately after the game on Sunday night, when ad chatter begins to rise.

In past years, YouTube has found that the peak time for ad viewership is the day after the big game. But, that shouldn’t deter brands from launching their ads prior the big day.

According to YouTube’s AdBlitz 10-year anniversary report, the share of Super Bowl ads released on YouTube before game day grew over 200% from 2008 to 2016.

As a result, the majority of viewers are watching ads prior to the game, giving digital marketing the opportunity to start dominating the Game Day advertising conversation (and budget).

“A 30-second ad in the broadcast stream is just that, 30 seconds,” Ad Age explained. “By contrast, a 30-second ad in the digital stream has the potential to break the barrier of time and become much more.”

Last year, KFC even made the top 5 ads on YouTube’s AdBlitz without airing their ad during the national TV broadcast. But, if you ask Agency executives about the real value of Super Bowl ads, and where they should run (like Forbes did), the jury is still out.

What is your favorite commercial from 2017’s Big Game? Don’t forget to vote on AdBlitz: https://www.youtube.com/adblitz