Time was when fans of television ads had as much fun on Super Bowl Sunday as did football fans. Anticipation would build as the audience waited to see who had the hottest ad -- and whose ad fell flat.

Kevin Federline, the former Mr. Britney Spears, appears in a 2007 Super Bowl commercial, a "life comes at you fast" ad for Nationwide Insurance. Web commentary The Post-Gazette's TV editor Rob Owen will blog live during the Super Bowl about the ads. Check out Tuned In Journal.

Not anymore. By the time this year's game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago Bears gets under way millions of viewers will have a pretty good idea of what some advertisers plan to show. Some advertisers have allowed the public to vote on the story lines. Others have provided a sneak preview of part of the commercials. A few have even aired the spots in their entirety.

The simple truth is, there's too much riding on these 30-second spots that reportedly cost around $2.6 million to actually wait for the kickoff. "I think the advertisers are trying to get as much mileage out of their investment as they possibly can," said David A. Case, president and chief executive officer of Downtown production firm PMI.

A few days ago, several short clips from Budweiser commercials that may run during the big game were posted on video sharing site YouTube.com. The company is offering glimpses of crabs, Clydesdales and an ax-wielding hitchhiker carrying Bud Light.

Snickers is showing a teaser clip from its Super Bowl ad at SnickersSatisfies.com, promising a surprise ending on Sunday and the chance to vote on alternate endings afterward. LG Electronics Canada posted the first few seconds of its commercial on IFilms and YouTube.com on Monday.

Going a step further, insurance company Nationwide posted its entire Super Bowl ad starring Kevin Federline, the man that Britney Spears no longer wants, on its own Web site Monday. Days earlier, the company posted some behind-the-scenes footage of him rapping for the spot meant to illustrate life coming at you fast, the company's message.

Nationwide isn't worried about ruining the surprise, said Mike Switzer, spokesman for the Columbus, Ohio, company. No matter how large the Super Bowl audience is, not everybody watches the game. "If you wait for the ad to run in the game, you're really missing half the country."

An image from a 2007 Super Bowl commercial for Anheuser-Busch.

Getting out early, an advertiser can tap into the social media outlets and generate buzz. If bloggers talk about the commercial, that may in turn get attention from other media. Sunday night, someone may turn to a friend as the commercial starts and says: "Watch this one. This is funny."

The Nationwide strategists liked the results they had last year when they revealed their commercial starring Fabio a week early. Besides, the big insurance company in a way is doing what it does best -- playing one risk off another. Without laying any advance groundwork, there's a chance viewers might miss the expensive spot altogether as they take a bathroom break. This way, it's covered.

At the same time, however, it also opens itself up early to the critics. Some YouTube viewers loved the behind-the-scenes clip of Mr. Federline. Others, not so much. "This would not make me want to by (sic) their insurance. The Aflac duck is cuter. The Geico lizard is funnier. K-Fed, yuck," wrote a reviewer who goes by "cgtlv.''

That's part of playing in the social media arena and using a polarizing figure such as Mr. Federline, said Mr. Switzer, who was pleased to report that more than 100,000 people had viewed the commercial as of mid-day Monday.

Sometimes, Super Bowl ads don't live up to all the hype. If a commercial is released too soon and people don't like it, that could undercut an advertiser's investment, said Kelly O'Keefe, director of executive education at the Virginia Commonwealth University Adcenter.

He tends to think companies should wait until the big game to do the "big reveal,'' if only so they won't steal their own thunder. Then video sharing sites would be a good place to post outtakes or a director's cut of the spots, something that would give people a fresh reason to search out the clips.

Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch is trying to preserve a little mystery. Although short clips from ads it is considering for the Super Bowl can be found on video sharing sites, none are shown in their entirety. Some of those posted have already been ruled out. Budweiser's YouTube compilation was set up so that no comments could be added.

This is the first year the company has posted its teaser clips on video sharing Web sites. In previous years, they were just shown to the traditional media who were seen as the main generators of Super Bowl ad publicity.

"Posting teaser videos to the Web is just another way to heighten anticipation for our advertising," said Bob Lachky, chief creative officer for Anheuser-Busch. The beer company spends a lot of time and money trying to heighten that anticipation, including promotions and banner ads on other sites.

Although Anheuser-Busch has been putting ads online -- usually after the game -- for several years, a decision last year to promote the service helped draw more than 20 million people to see the ads over the Web, a nice addition to the tens of millions more who watched them on TV.

Other evidence of advertisers' new appreciation for the brave new media world can be found in all the contests this year letting consumers write Super Bowl ads and vote on entries.

YouTube viewers can watch the winning pitches from the National Football League's top finalists, as well as the one by the guy who won. More than 200,000 votes were cast on the more than 1,700 submissions.

Five finalists were chosen from more than 1,000 suggestions for Doritos commercials. Those can be seen on YouTube.com, too.

If even a small piece of the huge Super Bowl audience takes the time to look before the game and send links to their friends, all this pre-game activity may prove effective, said Mr. Case. He doesn't plan to be one of the early birds. "I'm a fan of watching advertising on the Super Bowl, and I am not going to spend a half a day watching YouTube."

But the impact of such alternative outlets could grow as advertising becomes accessible on places other than the personal computer, he said. Big-time advertiser Anheuser-Busch is already moving beyond the PC. This year, its commercials will be accessible during the Super Bowl to mobile phone users who can use the devices to vote for their favorites.