Millions of viewers across the US will be tuning in today to see which team will be declared the victor: the Chiefs or the Eagles?

But in the time in-between plays, there will be a separate contest playing out on TV screens across the nation, as some of the biggest brands in the world hope to cement their place in the pop culture zeitgeist.

And it’s not surprising why.

Last year’s Super Bowl was watched by an average 123.4 million people in the US, making it the most watched broadcast since the 1969 Moon landing.

But in the early years, the game didn’t attract as many viewers (about 51.1 million people tuned in 1967). That explains why a 30-second slot could be purchased for about $300,000 (£241,000) in today’s dollars. That same time slot has cost millions in recent Super Bowls.

This year, it’s reported by US media that for just half a minute of air time, advertisers will be shilling out more than $7m (£5.6m).

It took companies a bit of time to clue in to the value of the multi-million dollar ad, but an often-referenced tipping point seems to be the early 80s.

In 1984, Apple hired US director Ridley Scott to create a 60-second commercial for the release of the original Macintosh. The ad, ostensibly an homage to the George Orwell novel with the same title, was a creative swing for the company, but it seemed to pay off.

A New York Times article from 1984, external said the technology firm spent about $370,000 to create the one-minute ad, while David Stubley – a sports marketing expert – told CNN, external this year that the company sold $150m worth of computers in the weeks after it aired.