Companies Release Super Bowl Ads to Maximize Exposure

With Super Bowl Sunday less than a week away, a flurry of advertisers including Budweiser and LG Electronics have already released their game-day ads in the hopes of stoking excitement and building up shares on social media.

Because ads cost up to $5 million per 30 seconds, advertisers are looking to extend buzz to make their investment pay off.

“More than ever we’re seeing very elaborate pre-game efforts to generate interest,” said Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.

Here’s a look at 10 spots that advertisers have released ahead of Sunday’s game on CBS:

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Avocados from Mexico

The trade group that promotes Mexican avocados has a quirky ad showing aliens in a museum appreciating human culture, including a Rubik’s Cube and actor Scott Baio.

Watch online: https://youtu.be/1ndPEQCoSzk

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BMW

Celebrities such as Harvey Keitel and Serena Williams call the new Mini Clubman car different names like “chick car” and “short man’s car” before urging viewers to “Defy Labels.”

Watch online: https://youtu.be/Y9XqYAzbmTI

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Budweiser

Actress Helen Mirren calls herself a “notoriously frank and uncensored British lady” and lectures drunken drivers about why it’s a terrible idea.

Watch online: https://youtu.be/Rb2VXVmUga4

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Heinz

To the tune of Harry Nilsson’s “Without You,” weiner dogs dressed up like hot dogs run excitedly toward people in ketchup costumes.

Watch online: https://youtu.be/LOlfhBT8i9I

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Honda

Sheep in a meadow sing Queen’s “Somebody to Love,” until their owner and a sheep dog drive up in a new Honda Ridgeline, which is also blasting the song.

Watch online: http://bit.ly/20BPSfi

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LG

Liam Neeson talks about the future in a sci-fi spot directed by Ridley Scott’s son, Jake Scott, to promote an LG TV.

Watch online: http://bit.ly/1Ku1eZw

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Pokemon

Pokemon’s ad for its 20th anniversary was shot in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and empowers children to “Train On.”

Watch online: http://bit.ly/1UmGo3M

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ShockTop

Silicon Valley actor T.J. Miller trades insults in a bar with the orange-slice mascot for Anheuser-Busch’s wheat beer.

Watch online: http://bit.ly/1WVIA3S

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SunTrust

Actor Gary Sinese urges people to let go of financial stress, “let go and breathe” and have financial confidence.

Watch online: http://bit.ly/1Px5CfH

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T-Mobile

Cellphone execs ask the rapper Drake to change the lyrics to “Hotline Bling” to sound more like a cellphone contract.

Watch online: https://youtu.be/GDIeNrcGxvQ

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.