Ever since Ridley Scott ripped off 1984 and launched the cult of Apple, the Superbowl has been all about the adverts. And at $3 million for a thirty second spot, it’s the kind of real estate Donald Trump would trade his weave in for.

This year’s crop of Superbowl advertisers, however, are also maxing out their use of social media, trending hard on Twitter while sitting at the top of YouTube’s ‘Most Watched’ charts. But is there anything ‘super’ about the Superbowl ads themselves? Let’s have a quick browse…

Doritos

Doritos have clocked up more than half a million online views for this suite of four ads. All deploy the familiar trick of making snack food acceptable by suggesting that the heterosexual males who consume it are less intelligent than small children, dogs and psychopaths wearing samurai outfits made of corn chips. Hmmm.

Kia

“I may be a post-ironic cartoon mascot created to make a car manufacturer look cuddly and increase traction on social media, but I still like bowling. This makes me a regular guy.”

Prince Of Persia

Jake Gyllenhall’s first popcorn-movie starring role. Not that you can hear him for the explosions and ominous drumming. I’m not entirely sure this is a comment on the film itself, or the quality of his ‘English’ accent.

What have we learned?

They mightn’t be an inspiring bunch, but are the low production values of Superbowl 2010 ads a sign of shrinking budgets or changing channels?

Were the Doritos ads, for example, a TV campaign or an attempt to kickstart the viral sharing of ‘LOL! The kid hit him!’ moments on social networks? Given how hard they’re trending at the moment, it’s easy to see how effective social media can be at wringing extra value from your ad spend.