• by Frank O'Brien , January 20, 2011

One Sunday each year monopolizes U.S. culture more than any other -- Super Bowl Sunday. It's a time for family and friends to bond over sports, food and heated competition. But why do people really watch? Is the game itself as important to the viewers as who performs at the half-time show? Given the probability that your favorite team isn't playing, do the teams matter? Probably not. Whatever the reason, most Americans will be watching, including teens.

Marketers who use Super Bowl commercials as guaranteed opportunities to showcase products to millions of Americans cannot forget that the audience will be heavily populated with teenaged viewers. Everyone talks about Super Bowl commercials, but the most efficient way to capitalize on this fact is to produce commercials that pique the interest of the highly social, connected teen market.

First, we must understand why teens watch -- and pay attention to -- Super Bowl advertising.

1. Teens like to talk and debate

People -- including a large number of teens -- often talk more about the commercials during the Super Bowl than about the best catch or the longest throw. We recently surveyed teens to ask their favorite Super Bowl commercial. Eighty percent of those surveyed were able to provide specific answers from memory. Super Bowl commercials are even used as part of classroom curriculums. Sixty percent of teens polled said they expect to have coursework from teachers that in some way reference the Super Bowl.

2. The Super Bowl is a family event

Even if Dad is the biggest football fan of the family and teens tend to watch games with him, the Super Bowl is a family event. Most families throw some kind of party, and even if it takes pizza and wings to draw people in, everyone in the house attends. It's one of the few times a year when teens feel comfortable spending the day at home with the family, bonding over what's on TV -- in this case new, entertaining commercials.

3. Most years, the halftime show is geared towards a younger audience

After wardrobe malfunctions of the past, the halftime show turned and began gearing more towards an older audience. However, in the most recent years, we have seen the switch back, and newer, younger artists have returned. This year, the Black Eyed Peas will perform, which certainly give teens a reason to watch. And what comes right before and after the halftime performance? Commercials.

Without a doubt, we'll all be glued to our TVs for the Super Bowl this year. What commercials to you expect to see?