Super Bowl ads are super appealing

This is the world we live in:

Millions of Americans enjoy watching TV on their DVRs for the ability to skip commercials, but millions will watch the Super Bowl on Sunday just to see the advertisements.

The biggest commercial buzz so far is on the Matthew Broderick sorta-kinda resurrection of Ferris Bueller. We're so full of nostalgic love for the movie character from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, we'll mindlessly watch a commercial endorsement from the actor who played him 26 years ago acting like the film's character, though he's not actually reprising the role. This reminds me of when we watched William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy appear together on Priceline ads as themselves. "Look! It's Shatner and Nimoy on TV together again! Quick, hit the record button!"

There's also buzz on the new Volkswagen ad again featuring a Star Wars theme. This year dogs are barking out the "Imperial March," aka Darth Vader's song. Wasn't the holiday-themed commercial of dogs barking out Jingle Bells enough?

Verily, the Force is strong with these million-dollar commercials; an allure so tempting that many non-sports fans will tune in just to watch a minute-long spot selling them something. But does anyone care what clever tricks Bud Light or Pepsi are up to this year? They certainly don't the rest of the year.

It's all part of the must-see experience of the Super Bowl, a football game with more pre-kickoff hype than actual on-the-field action. There are five hours of pre-game talk and analysis -- six if you count the hour-long Road to the Super Bowl at noon -- compared to the roughly 3 1/2 to 4 hours spent on the game. The Super Bowl, by the way, can be seen locally on WNWO-TV, Channel 24.

Even more time could be shaved from the game if the NFL would cut back on its half-time show. How many football fans care to watch Madonna perform? I give the NFL props for trying to be mainstream hip and relevant by booking acts such as U2, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, the Rolling Stones, Prince, and the Who among many others to entertain the 90-plus million people watching the game at home. But these mini concerts are unnecessary at best and embarrassing at worst. (The Black Eyed Peas performing "Gimme Shelter" last year still gives me nightmares.) At least with bland tributes and salutes from marching bands and the Up With People crew, the shows were so cheesy-bad you were compelled to watch for the off-the-rails factor. Now the performances are nothing more than time fillers to stretch out an already bloated show. But for those of us who were paying attention to the 2004 half-time act, we were rewarded with the "wardrobe malfunction" live.

I was writing a story about the commercials that year, so I was glued to the TV for the entire broadcast. My wife stepped out during the Janet Jackson-Justin Timberlake performance and missed the whole thing. She didn't believe what I saw when she got back.

"There was a boob on TV!" I told her. Considering the state of network television, that didn't leave much of an impression.

And this Sunday, I'll be glued to the tube like millions of Americans to watch the pre-game hype, the game, the half-time show, and, yes, the ads. I'll tell everyone I'm watching it for my job; what's more popular culture than the Super Bowl? But really, I'll be watching the Super Bowl extravaganza for the same reasons as everyone else: I'll rate the ads, including the Ferris Bueller-Honda spot which I've already seen online. I'll complain about how much time is wasted in over-hyping the game as I waste my time watching all of it. I'll watch the game itself. And, of course, I'll watch the Madonna performance.

And if I want to see a boob, I'll only have to look in the mirror.

Contact Kirk Baird at kbaird@theblade.com or 419-724- 6734. Follow him on Twitter @bladepopculture.