I don't know if I like watching the ads during the Super Bowl most, or if it's the discussions we have the next day about the ads that is truly what's best.

Not the football game. But the ads. That's the best part. And I think most people agree, right? The conversations you have the next day — do you spend more time talking about the outcome of the game, or which ads you enjoyed the most?

Which ads do we talk about the next day? That’s the true test of a great ad, isn't it? If people remember your ad — talk about it — it’s working. Forgotten ads are, simply put, a waste of money.

You see, the Super Bowl is an annual lesson on "How Advertising Works," and it's laid out there in front of the whole world, and for all of us marketers to learn from. Again and again. It's always the same lesson, and yet so many marketers see it and don't catch up on the learning provided in it. The lesson: The ads that are talked about afterwards, the ones that get remembered, are the winners. They are the ones that were worth the money. Whether it's $2 million for :30 seconds or more (the prices just keep going up and I can't keep track), if your ad shows on that great Super Bowl stage, in front of the whole world, and it's one of the ads they talk about the next day, it's worth the money.

Remember that the next time you're scheduled to produce some new television spots or a new branding campaign. The ad that is talked about is the winner. This is true of all Super Bowl ads, and all casino ads, too.