Super Bowl 2012 Online: Will Internet Kill the Television Ad Stars?

Now that we've got the Buggles reference out of the way, let's answer a pressing question: Is online advertising slowly killing the need for companies to have a television presence during the Super Bowl?

Not quite yet. However, relying solely on television is folly.

As you've likely seen, many companies are releasing their Super Bowl commercials online well before the Super Bowl airs.

"Why kill the surprise?" you might be thinking

It's simple—Super Bowl festivities now last two weeks. The Super Bowl isn't just a one-day thing or a football game anymore, it's a two-week halo of analysis, buzz and Internet keywords.

Media day opened its doors to the fans, late night talk show hosts like Jimmy Fallon are broadcasting from Indianapolis and every single angle on the game and experience has been written about and re-written about 56,346,344 times at this point.

Excuse me while I pause for a moment of inward meta-gazing.

The point is, advertisers can hold your attention and keep it if they post their "Super Bowl Commercial" on YouTube. No, it's not actually any different from any other commercial. However, when it's labeled as a "Super Bowl Commercial," it suddenly feels so exciting, like a company and the ad agency it hired will really be bringing their A-game for this particular 30-second spot.

Advertisers want to build a relationship with consumers so they can impart upon you warm and fuzzy feelings when you think about the product they are selling. Have you ever bought anything you felt negatively toward?

Of course not. One way of hanging around is advertising during the Super Bowl halo online. The other is online interaction with the product leading up to and even during the Super Bowl.

Here are a few of the fun ways you can hang out with a product online during the Super Bowl this year, from Mae Anderson of the Associated Press (via the Miami Herald):

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About two-thirds of smartphone and tablet owners use their gadgets to do things like text or post on Twitter while watching TV, according to research firm Nielsen. So, for Sunday’s game, companies from Coke to Chevy are trying to reach fans on all the “second screens” they have.

Chevrolet rolled out the first Super Bowl smartphone app that allows Big Game watchers to enter a contest to win prizes from small to big, such as a pizza and a new Camaro. Kia is the first company to show its Super Bowl ad ahead of the game in movie theaters. And Coca Cola set up a Facebook page and website so viewers can see its animated polar bears — one cheering for the New England Patriots and the other for the New York Giants — reacting to the game in real time.

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Television, by its very nature, is a passive exercise, which is why it is relaxing. The fear now for advertisers is that you'll relax with your smart phone or laptop during the commercial breaks. They can't just reach you through the television any longer—they need to interact with you online or through mobile apps as well.

I like to think of Super Bowl television advertisements as the base of operations for advertisers. However, the real war for your attention is happening in the trenches of the Internet, and new battles are being waged on your devices.

Television is the advertising star on Super Bowl Sunday for now. However, someday they'll sing, "The Internet came and broke your heart / So put all the blame on DVR."

That's enough of the Buggles for one day.

Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets are chicken soup for the Internet soul.

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