Big budget ads make for
compelling web content

After YouTube's web premiere of Super Bowl ads last year, NBCU's Hulu, Spike, AOL and MySpace competing to feature the menagerie of ads as content this year.

Hulu streamed all the ads on its site and posted favorites on the company blog.

MySpace.com/superbowlads, which aired all the ads after the game, was promoted at regular intervals throughout. MySpace is owned by News Corp, the parent company of Fox.

AOL streamed ads in its sports section, and Spike ambitiously attempted to air each ad five minutes after it appeared on television.

But the ads themselves were not the only chips circulating the online space. Sites like Adfreak and Adrants hosted live chat rooms for ad professionals during the game. Alongside them, Advertising Age, Adland and other ad-oriented sites tried posting commentary and lists of Super Bowl sponsors in advance of the game or as they appeared.