This year, viewers can take the annual Super Bowl game into their own hands — well, at least the commercials between its plays.
Advertisers are devising new ways for viewers to interact with their Super Bowl ads; long gone are the days of simply getting fans to tweet and like their Facebook pages.
Coca-Cola is asking viewers to vote on their online match between showgirls, bikers and cowboys all competing for a coke in the desert.
Pepsi and Toyota are using viewers’ photos in their ad spots, Audi let fans choose the end of its commercial and Lincoln’s is based on tweets from fans about their road trips.
"We're seeing better and more unique ways of getting people involved," Robert Kolt, an advertising instructor at Michigan State University told AP. "You want people to be engaged."
The efforts are worth it according to the Associated Press – companies that advertise in the Super Bowl get a 20% increase in web traffic.
With an average cost of $4 million per commercial, it’s no surprise advertisers want fans to get excited about their commercials as much as possible.
Pepsi expected to get 2,000 photos for its ad, and got 100,000 instead – of which only 1000 were chosen for the ad’s intro.
Audi also reported success with its campaign.
"This year, Audi wanted to elevate fan interaction by allowing them to take part in the creative process and have a voice in how our spot should end," said Loren Angelo, Audi's general manager of brand marketing.
As of now, Audi’s is the third-most viewed Super Bowl ads with 2.5 million views. It’s just behind a Toyota ad with CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory” star Kaley Cuoco and a Mercedes-Benz commercial featuring supermodel Kate Upton, according to YouTube.com
If you’ve already perused this year’s crop of Super Bowl commercial online, USA Today offers other ways to get ready for the big game.
See if the president makes a super bowl pick at his sit-down interview with Scott Pelley at 4:30 p.m. ET or watch the puppy bowl on Animal Planet at 3 p.m. ET.