This coming Sunday is the first Sunday of February, and we all know what that means: We get to sit back and watch our much-anticipated Super Bowl commercials, with the occasional, sometimes annoying, interruption of a football game.

Last year, more than 111.3 million viewers watched the Super Bowl. This broke the previous record set by the 2011 Super Bowl by 300,000 viewers. The audience of the big game is growing each year. This makes the Super Bowl prime pickings for advertisers who want to promote their products. An article in “TV Guide” said that some ad spots were sold for as much as $4 million. But are the ads really worth that much money?

I am a huge football fan, and I love to watch the Super Bowl. My family gets together, the guys to watch the game and the girls to watch the commercials. We usually have tons of snacks, and we eat dinner at halftime.

Every year, I watch as advertisers look to top their previous ads, get a good laugh and hopefully make more money. Who can forget some of the classics? The iconic Larry Bird, Michael Jordan H-O-R-S-E showdown for a Big Mac, the Budweiser Clydesdale’s field goal and, of course, the classic Mean Joe Greene Coca-Cola commercial.

We can always count on the usual candidates to entertain us. There are always a few Doritos commercials, Bud Light commercials and even a visit from the E-Trade baby. “Wazzup?” By far my favorite commercial of all time.

But do these ads really get us to go out and buy these things?

I might not be the only one to admit that, when the Pepsi commercial comes on, I don’t get the hankering to go get a Pepsi. I don’t say to myself, “Hey, that was a funny commercial. I want to drink a Pepsi.” I drink a Pepsi because I like Pepsi. At least on my part, by the time the Doritos commercial comes around, I have already eaten a full bag of them, and so has my brother.

Maybe instead of trying to get their name out there, these companies are just rewarding their loyal customers with a laugh. “Thanks for buying our product. We appreciate it. Now enjoy a laugh — on us.”

Then again, there is probably a science to deciding if the money is worth it. At $4 million per 30 seconds, the ads must be worth it, at least in the eyes of companies.

On my part, I am glad that these companies go to such lengths to entertain us. In the corporate world, sometimes it seems that it is all about them, what they want. At least for one day, they give back. “Wow, thanks, Mean Joe” — for the laughs.

So, to answer the question, ads are worth it to companies, and worth it to us. It might not be for the same reasons, but we all win in the end.

So sit back and enjoy the festivities. This is the best entertainment Sunday of the year, and I hope it doesn’t disappoint. The game should be a good one too.