Well, it’s that time of year where every advertising person will huddle around their TV to see where the future of advertising will be headed – or at least that’s what it’s made to seem like. It’s  Superbowl weekend! And it has become one of the most popular events on TV, oddly enough, not for the game being played but for the commercials being aired. This has been a tradition for the last 44 years, and to have your spot showcased during the big game is a big deal. But at a price of roughly $2.5 million for 30 seconds it is one of the most expensive 30 seconds you can buy. Check out spots from the last 38 years here.

What should we expect to see this year? Which spot will walk away with top honors?

It’s guaranteed that some will be good (Budweiser) and that some will be bad (?) and that all will be watched with a scrutinizing eye by the advertising community. According to Spike, Doritos walked away with the top honors in 2009. Here are their top 5:

1) Doritos — Crystal Ball (25.19%)

2) Pepsi Max — I’m Good (16.75%)

3) Bud Light — Conan O’Brien’s Swedish Commercial (10.72%)

4) Coca-Cola — Heist (10.32%)

5) Bridgestone — The Potato Head Family (9.14%)

We saw a lot of user generated content last year, and this year it seems to be social media getting all the buzz. Twitter will be flooded with hash tags for the game, in-fact a site has already been set up for #SB44

But the advertiser will be using social media in 3 distinct ways this year according to Mashable.com.

1. To create controversy

We’ve all heard about the banned ads — GoDaddy is great for this. They usually prompt you to their site to see the “unrated” (but still pg.-13) version of the spot, but got dinged this year for a retired NFL player.  In fact, ManCrunch has a spot that is  already gone viral, and if you haven’t heard about Tim Tebow’s spot…where have you been?

2. To create general buzz

Perhaps this is the high road compared to the controversy route. Budweiser has done a great job of this tactic, by allowing people to become fans of their Facebook page and then voting on what commercial gets aired during the game. After all, the fans are the ones that have to watch it right? Coke will even let you share a virtual drink with a friend.

3. To bypass the Superbowl

Pepsi has decided for the first time in 23 years to not have a spot during the game, and instead will spend 20 million on the “Pepsi Refresh Project”.

No one knows for sure what is instore, but one thing you can bank on is that everyone will be talking on Monday about the ones that were great.

Which advertiser do you think will be the most memorable during this year’s Super Bowl?