The countdown has begun for Super Bowl XLIII, which takes place on Sunday, February 1, 2009 in sunny Tampa Bay.  We thought we’d give you a heads up on what we all look forward to on game day – the commercial ads.

According to Dick Ebersol, Chairman of NBC Sports, the network sold 85 percent of its ad time by mid-September.  “Considering the state of the economy, we couldn’t be more thrilled.”

The top corporations are shelling out between $2.4 million and $3 million for each 30 second ad spot.  Executives are mindful that during economic hard times, consumers will give these spendy ads a tremendous amount of scrutiny.  Many corporations are weaving some feel good messages into their ads to shore up the masses.

We’ve included an advance view of the top commercial spots to be aired on game day.  Those laying out the big bucks include PepsiCo, General Electric, Monsters vs Aliens-3D, Sony Pictures, Audi, and Cars.com.

Others include Pedigree, E-Trade Financial, Corolla, Pixar-Up, CareerBuilder, Paramount, Gatorade and Anheuser-Busch.

Oh, lest we forget – there is another little contest going on between the two top NFL teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals.  Kick-off is at 6:25 p.m. ET on NBC.  Enjoy!Check out the Super Bowl XLIII Commercial videos below.

Pepsi Max: I’m Good – Monkey

 

Pepsi Max: I’m Good

 

General Electric: Scarecrow

 

Monsters vs. Aliens

 

Cars.com

 

Pedigree

 

Paramount: Star Trek Trailer

 

Disney -Pixar: Up Trailer

 

Dreamworks (Paramount): Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Trailer

 

Gatorade Super Bowl Commercials

Mean Troy Coke Zero Commercial

Banned PETA Super Bowl Ad

View all Super Bowl XLIII Commercials

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