system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How are commercials cost-effective to a company? Has anyone ever seen a comercial and thought, "Wow! I'm going to go buy that."

I'm thinking about Superbowl ads...millions of dollars for 30 seconds of glory.  Do companies just have an absurd amount of money to spend?
gpt
It's not about pushing units.

Well it is... but not always.  Commercials and marketing have a lot to do with brand recognition and outreach.

So when Bud Light is paying millions to show you a super bowl ad, they aren't expecting you to leap up and buy more bud light.  They are trying to give you a positive view of their brand (hence why those ads are usually funny/heartwarming) so that the next time you are in the market buying beer Bud Light will stick out to you.