Forget about the game. The Super Bowl’s commercials are much more interesting and boast way more stars than the game itself.
The ads create more buzz than the big game and dish out marketing muscle at the cost of $3.8 million per 30-second spot.
Hoping to land advance praise — or perhaps controversy — to boost online traffic via YouTube and other Web outlets, advertisers have been “leaking” their ads this week.
Two spots have already drawn cries of racism: Coca-Cola’s “Chase,” for featuring Arabs on camels and VW, for using a white guy with a Jamaican accent in its spot, “Get Happy.”
It wouldn’t be Super Bowl, though, without Budweiser’s Clydesdales, and soda wars: Pepsi will surround Beyonce’s half-time show with a spot introducing the Bootylicious star.
In-home carbonation system Soda Stream, meanwhile, will field a fresh commercial, its first attempt having been banned by Super Bowl broadcaster CBS for poking fun at Pepsi and Coke.
Cars again will dominate the commercial breaks, with unforgettable spots from Mercedes-Benz featuring Kate Upton. Kia bought a YouTube home page ad to promote its Super Bowl spot starring astronaut babies. Lincoln is keeping its spot under wraps.
Worth keeping an eye out for: Psy’s spot for Wonderful Pistachios and MilkPEP’s spot featuring “The Rock,” ignoring a host of crises to get milk.
catkinson@nypost.com