the ads / hmmm ... I've seen this before.(Sports)

America's YouTube viewing history is full of videos like "Baby monkey rides pig" and " 'Titanic' theme - played on recorder" and prisoners dancing to "Thriller" and of course, Bieber.

"Ha!" we snort from our desks, before forwarding it to our entire address book. "I usually don't send mass forwards but you have to see this ..."

That's what watching Sunday's Super Bowl commercials felt like: receiving an email forward that everyone had long ago seen.

Talking bears and driving monkeys. Dudes hit in the crotch with Pepsi cans. Promos for a very special Glee, where the cast covers, you guessed it, "Thriller."

Oh. And Bieber.

It felt too familiar. (Exception: Groupon's brilliant satire of actors' begging for non-profit donations.)

This year there was little distinction between what we see on YouTube every day and the commercials we saw during the Super Bowl, supposedly the holy grail of advertising. Six ads from Doritos and PepsiMax were user generated.

By halftime, I found myself muttering, "Haven't I already seen this on Facebook? Did the Bridgestone's cubicle jockey forward this email?"

Probably.

Many companies released their ads days before the big game, racking up views online. If you waited until the second quarter to see Volkswagen's adorable Darth Vader commercial, you probably didn't have Internet access. If you kept waiting for a "Double Rainbow" ad from Wrigley's Doublemint gum, well, I was right there with you.

This morning, the watercooler talk will be of Joan Rivers and Dorito-dusted pants and then the cycle will complete itself. We'll log on to YouTube to watch them again.

CAPTION(S):

CareerBuilder.com via the ap

In this screen shot provided by CareerBuilder.com, the CareerBuilder chimpanzees are back at work, in a scene from this year's Super Bowl commercial.