Ad campaigns don’t get any bigger than they do for the NFL Super Bowl. Not surprising given that nearly half of the population of the U.S. tunes in to watch the annual game.

But why do big companies release ads -- or teasers for ads -- online ahead of Superbowl Sunday? Well, according to YouTube, it ensures your ad will be viewed up to 600% more than if it weren’t posted online.

So it’s worth giving away the goods for the sake of the extra views. And because online ads aren’t restricted to 30 second slots, advertisers can get pretty creative.

This year’s crop of ads don’t disappoint in creativity, sexiness, even controversy.

CTVNews.ca has compiled some of of the pre-released ads and teasers that the slickest ad agencies in the business have crafted ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl XLVII.

FEEL-GOOD ADS

Volkwagen: Sunny Side. It seems VW can’t help but make great Super Bowl ads (remember “The Force” from last year? 56 million hits and counting). VW’s new campaign compiles several popular memes -- including the woman who really, REALLY likes cats -- and plays them under the famous Jimmy Cliff song. You’ll smile and laugh, we swear.

Hyundai: Team. An uplifting ode to the underdog.If you’ve ever been underestimated and have fantasized about getting back at your bullies, this ad’s for you. A clever take on the classic underdog tale.

Toyota: I Wish. If seeing “Big Bang Theory’s” Kaley Cuoco going around and granting wishes to the soundtrack of Skee-lo is on your wish list, hit play on this teaser.

CONTROVERSY

Volkswagen: ‘Get In. Get Happy’: A few ads have attracted some backlash, including this one for the 2013 VW Beetle that features a white office worker from Minnesota, who’s so happy from driving a Beetle that he speaks in a thick Jamaican accent. New York Times columnist Charles Blow thinks the spot is flat-out racist, comparing it to “blackface with voices.” The reaction is mixed in the YouTube comments section,although several posters Thursday afternoon decried the cries of racism. “EmpressNikki12” wrote: “I am a Jamaican and I certainly wasn't offended by this. It actually made me laugh and can appreciate that we are seen as ‘happy go lucky’...”

Coca-Cola: Chase. A Coca-Cola teaser was accused of promoting negative stereotypes by Arab-American groups. The spot shows an Arab man walking through the desert with a camel. He’s soon passed by a group of Vegas showgirls, cowboys and a gang right out of ‘Mad Max’ who are racding to get to a big bottle of Coke. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee complained Arabs are too often portrayed as terrorists or sheiks -- and this spot doesn’t do anything to improve that.

Mercedes-Benz: Kate Upton washes car. The title pretty much says it all. The spot featuring the model washing a Mercedes CLA-Class in super slow motion as football players gawked and drooled had everyone talking when it was unleashed on YouTube. The Parents Television Council complained the ad proves society has regressed.