Super Bowl’s six most-anticipated ads

This year advertisers are bringing sexy back to the Super Bowl.

In the nine years since Janet Jackson bared her breast during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show, setting off a firestorm over indecency on television, ads in the big game largely eschewed sexuality, with the exception of an annual racy spot by Go Daddy.

Then last year Kia tested Americans’ tolerance for semi-nudity with an ad featuring Victoria’s Secret angel Adriana Lima in a skimpy bathing suit.

It was so popular that one viewer actually linked together the images of a half-naked Lima into a five-hour video on YouTube.

That apparently inspired other advertisers to seek out sexy themes this year.

Mercedes-Benz has a spot starring model Kate Upton (above). It released a teaser for the ad earlier this week in which the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover girl wears a tiny tank top and provocatively plays with bubbles as a group of guys wash her car.

It’s already gotten more than 5.5 million plays on YouTube, more than any other ad for Sunday’s game, making it easily the most anticipated of this year’s lineup.

Other sexy ads this year include a spot for Axe featuring a bathing beauty, Go Daddy’s spot featuring Danica Patrick and supermodel Bar Rafaeli, and an innuendo-laden Gildan Activewear ad that had to be recut before it made it past CBS censors.

Anheuser-Busch has even been running a teaser for its Super Bowl ad across multiple networks this week showing a woman in a short dress walking down a hallway carrying a sixpack of beer.

In addition to Upton’s ad, here are the game’s five other most-anticipated advertisements:

Volkswagen’s “Get In. Get Happy.”

The carmaker has had two of the most popular Super Bowl ads the past two years with its Star Wars-themed spots. This year it tries a new tactic with an ad featuring a Minnesotan and a Jamaican, which has drawn lots of pregame buzz because of charges of racism for how the Jamaican is portrayed.

Doritos

Doritos again turned its creative over to fans, allowing people to vote on five fan-submitted finalists. There’s a lot of excitement over the ads, which have been among the highest ranking in the postgame ad polls the past two years.

Toyota’s “Wish Granted”

The car company snagged red-hot actress Kaley Cuoco (“The Big Bang Theory”) to star in a funny ad about a wish-granting genie who offers to make one family’s dreams come true. It’s already received 3.5 million views on YouTube.

Audi’s “Prom”

Yet another car ad (automakers are advertising heavily this year), this one showcases a boy going solo to the prom. His night gets better when his dad gives him the keys to his Audi.

Coca-Cola

The company has built a lot of buzz by inviting people to vote on which one of four groups should receive the Coke at the end of a desert race. The preliminary ad has gotten 1.5 million streams on YouTube and the outcome of the vote will be revealed on Sunday.

Tags: ads, advertisers, cbs, danica patrick, Go Daddy, kate upton, kate upton mercedes benz, most anticipated super bowl ads, people, sports illustrated swimsuit issue, spot, super bowl, super bowl advertising, super bowl most anticipated ads, this week