Companies release Super Bowl ads to maximize exposure

NEW YORK – In the days leading up to Super Bowl Sunday, a flurry of advertisers including Budweiser and LG Electronics 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:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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