2012 Super Bowl commercial preview

It's that time of year again. Time for this year's top talent to duke it out in front of the nation, hoping to gain a few new fans. Apparently, between the moments of action, there is also some kind of game along with the main event. I believe they call it football.  But I think we can all agree the hype is for the Super Bowl commercials. 

This year NBC is charging an 8,333% price increase from the original $42,000 charged for spots during the first Super Bowl in 1967. Which means, in between bites of my satellite-dish-sized pizza and massive amounts of wings, I better be entertained enough to remember which brand made an impact on me because this battle is costing companies an average of $3.5 million for each 30-second spot.

Luckily, companies like Budweiser, Coca-Cola and Doritos can afford expensive campaigns that keep bringing us back every year. This year is no different. In fact, this year the companies couldn't contain themselves. Already, about 20 videos have been “leaked.” That's a marketing term for creating buzz so that people like me will write blog posts about their product and therefore give them extra exposure. You know, so they get their $3.5 million worth. You might have already seen some. But in case you haven't seen them all, we've conjured up the latest up-to-date list for your viewing pleasure. Let the laughing begin! 

Some say Volkswagen won the battle last year with their adorable pint-size Darth Vader campaign. This year, they're building on to that success by revisiting the bark, er . . . dark side. 

The new 2012 Volkswagen Beetle inspires Bolt the dog to get in shape. I'm sure we can all relate. 

Remember 1986? Of course you don't. We all blocked out the '80s to allow room to forgive ourselves for all the hair teasing and the acid washed jeans. But there's one iconic moment from that decade we can't forget: Bueller? Bueller? . . . Bueller?

ONE WORD: Seinfeld. Need I say more?!

Jumping on the vampire bandwagon, Audi decided to appeal to the teenagers who can afford these cars. Wait, that doesn't sound right. Maybe this shout out to the living dead is for those cougar moms who are also huge Twilight fans. Either way, it sucks. [Get it?]

Ah, yes. The old “I traded my sled in for a Suzuki” joke. Can never get enough of these. 

There's a small “ha!“ moment at the very end of this commercial. Otherwise, it's just your average car ad. 

After reinventing the Camry, Toyota decided to keep reinventing things. See what they came up with.

This one won't make you laugh. But it's dripping wet with sweetness. I dare you not to say, "awww!“

This is a pretty epic tease of an ad. It makes you excited for the longer version. 

If all offices could sound like this, I would be more pumped to come into work. 

Nothing beats a high-pitched girl scream. Well done, Hyundai, well done. 

I saved the weakest of Hyundai commercials for last. This one is just OK. 

“The polar bears are watching the game, live.” This game day spot will change depending on the game circumstances. If the 2nd quarter is particularly stressful, then the bear will relieve some tension when his friends toss him a Coke ... if he can catch it.

We all have our superstitions. Take me, for example. I've been wearing my Eli Manning home game jersey ever since they won the division title. And it's working! I haven't taken it off since. This thing has been on, 24/7. Yessiree! Hey, do you guys smell something? 

I think Doritos has it down. See, they don't produce the commercials. They have fans do that. For the past five years, Doritos has had a competition to see who can make the best commercial. We, the viewers, vote for the best one, then the winner gets one million dollars and their ad featured during the big game. All Doritos has to do is pay that hefty $3.5 million bill, then sit back and watch the numbers roll in. Genius. Here are the top five contenders for this year's winner.

This is just creepy. I have no words. You can't say I didn't warn you.

What happens when the engineers at Bridgestone bring their passion and tire technologies to the world of sports? Get a sneak preview of Bridgestone's Super Bowl XLVI ad. I've been informed that Hall of Famer Dick Vitale will be appearing in some of these as well.

Watch out Jimmy Dean, you've got some competition. Kraft has come out with some kind of breakfast cookie. 

There they are!  We will continue to update this as the ads filter out. So be sure to check back frequently. Until then, take a walk down memory lane and revisit some of our favorite spots from last year's game here.