Forget Super Bowl XLIII’s result, who will win the Super Bowl commercial wars? Every year, top consumer brands spend millions of dollars on ads that air during the Super Bowl. This fierce advertising competition has become a sport unto itself.

Without plugging any of the brands, we can tell you that this year’s crop of Super Bowl ads will be just as creative and overproduced as in previous years.

Why is it that Super Bowl ad space is still so highly coveted by corporate America? Simple. With media becoming more and more fractured, it’s hard to find such a mass audience to which to pitch your product. Every year, more and more television channels pop up. There are countless new sites launching every day. Yet, the Super Bowl is still very much an across-the-board appealing event. Men and women watch it, young and old. If you want to make a splash and you have a few million bucks, the Super Bowl is the perfect exposure vehicle.

The other question we can ask is why we are so captivated and intrigued by Super Bowl commercials. Another simple answer. We look forward to the ads because the production value has become as good as anything else we watch on television or in film.

Up and coming directors are clamoring to get Super Bowl commercial gigs, production houses are being hired to create memorable ads and celebrities are being tabbed to star in them. Indeed, Super Bowl ads have become just as much a part of pop culture as the Oscars or the Grammys – annual programs that are must-see television events.

So the next time you roll your eyes because a buddy wants to watch the Super Bowl commercials, remember that your favorite sitcom actor could be in one of them. Accept it – Super Bowl ads are as American as apple pie.