This year, 71,000 fans will pack Levi’s Stadium for Super Bowl 50. Millions more will watch Super Bowl 50 on CBS.

Everyone who watches the game on television has a different purpose for watching it. Most of us watch it for the game. A select few watch it for the halftime show (which will feature Coldplay this year). However, an increasing number of people are watching the Super Bowl for the ads.

And I can hardly blame them for watching the game for the ads. After all, a 30-second commercial in the Super Bowl costs a lot. Back in the day, during Super Bowl 1, it cost only $100,000 for a 30-second clip (which was a lot back then, but not prohibitively large). Today? Be prepared to shell out at least $5 million for a 30-second ad. So, considering that the big companies (like Pepsi, Frito-Lay and other big-name brands) usually break the bank just to get an ad in the Super Bowl, it’s little wonder that many companies try to make the ads just as memorable as the game and therefore appeal to TV viewers.

However, one has to realize that while these ads can be goofy, serious or a combination of the two; it’s important to realize that these are just ads, and they need to take a backseat to the game.

Why? Think about it: if the Super Bowl were not as popular today, these ads would not be here. And to raise a point, why are ads designed around the Super Bowl, when there are other sports that could also get the same treatment to its ads? After all, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, more commonly known as March Madness, is almost getting to the point where it could rival the Super Bowl in number of TV viewers, so why are ads not designed around, say, the Final Four? And what about the NCAA College Football Playoff? The National Championship game is quickly becoming the second-most watched game, after the Super Bowl, and yet ads aren’t designed to the same extent as the Super Bowl. Why? If college basketball and football are just as popular as the Super Bowl, shouldn’t they get the same treatment?

This is not to undermine the ads themselves. As I said, companies shell out millions of dollars just to get one 30-second ad, and some of these ads are as memorable or even more memorable than the game. However, when it comes to the game, the ads need to take a backseat.

In the end, people can watch what they want. Some watch for the ads, some watch for the game, and some watch for the halftime show. However, if everyone took a step back and realize that the ads wouldn’t be here without the game, everyone would more greatly appreciate the game and realize these are just ads.

The views in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of the HiLite staff. Reach Aaron Seals at [email protected].