IRVINE, Calif. -

From an all-star rapper to the grown-up version of America’s favorite teenage truant, from sarcastic NBC comic legends to vampires, this year’s collection of automaker Super Bowl commercial stars run the gamut of pop-culture icons.

Heading into the weekend, the spots are also generating a bit of “pre-game buzz” for automakers, some of whom are advertising on Super Sunday for the first time.

With this in mind, Auto Remarketing looked at the theories of auto analysts that certain car ads might just work better than others.

In fact, according to Kelley Blue Book, commercials where the actual vehicle is featured or a celebrity is involved tend to do better.

“In addition to being model-focused, commercials with pop culture references tend to outperform other campaigns,” noted Arthur Henry, KBB’s manager of market intelligence. “Last year, Volkswagen saw a lot of success with its Star Wars ad, and Chrysler also benefited from their ‘Imported from Detroit’ commercial starring Detroit-native Eminem.”

Fortunately for several of the advertising brands, many of this year’s crop will feature both the model and the celebrity.

Suzuki, for instance, is advertising its Kizashi model through a “Sled” commercial featuring Eskimos and the music of rapper 50 Cent, who — appropriately enough — is the protégé of last year’s Super Sunday rap star, Eminem.

Likewise, Kia is going the musical route, using a famous tune of rock legends Motley Crue. Their spot promotes the 2012 Optima Limited, and features Victoria Secret Angel Adriana Lima, mixed martial arts star Chuck Liddell and more to go along with the song “Kickstart My Heart” from the aforementioned heavy-metal bad boys.

Audi is running a spot playing off the pop-culture fascination with vampires as it advertises its LED technology.

And in what may be the most talked-about spot heading into the game (automotive or otherwise) actor Matthew Broderick — aka “Ferris Bueller” — headlines an ad featuring the 2012 Honda CR-V.

The “Matthew’s Day Off” commercial was directed by Todd Phillips of  "The Hangover" and "Old School "fame. Honda hopes to reach Gen-Y viewers, many of whom likely saw “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” as kids and are now experiencing their own “coming of age” as they move into their 30s.

KBB is expecting online traffic for the CR-V, in particular, to climb 100 percent week-over-week on Sunday. While this hike may not be as high as some vehicles, KBB believes it will be longer-lasting and sustained for quite a while.

“The images of the new CR-V have been available for several months, but this affordable model, currently available for purchase, has been high in demand even before the redesign," said Arthur Henry, manager of market intelligence for Kbb.com.

“The national exposure will only further interest in the model, as advertisements that resonate most with consumers are those that are model specific,” he added.

One brand that is going with the model-focused approach, but ditching the celebrity element is Cadillac. The luxury brand is spotlighting the 2013 ATS, but is doing so with a “straight pitch” commercial that the brand argues is a “contrast to many Super Bowl ads.”

Duplicating Chrysler’s Success from 2011

Arguably the most talked-about spot from last year’s game was Chrysler’s spot with Eminem, and as alluded to earlier, it proved to be a worthwhile investment for the Detroit brand.

Michelle Krebs, senior analyst Michelle Krebs, expanded upon what make Chrysler so successful a year ago, and set the bar for what automakers may have to do to this year to see similar traction.

In an article for Forbes.com (her debut column), Krebs also touched on the fact that many of these advertisers have also leaked out previews or full versions of these ads.

“Chrysler demonstrated last year that the key to a winning Super Bowl ad is a compelling storyline, engaging characters and buzz factor that carries beyond the game itself,” Krebs said. “This year’s advertisers are already trying to exploit the pre-game buzz for their expensive ads, but the question is: have so many been released at once that none will break through the noise?”

KBB, for one, expects that it will the Chevrolet Volt. Its analysts argue the Volt will see the greatest uptick in traffic on Sunday, with its share on Kbb.com likely to climb 250 percent week-over-week.

Pushing this increase is the fact that the Volt is fairly new, and therefore, its popularity can be heavily influenced by national exposure like the Super Bowl, KBB noted, also pointing the hearty demand for subcompact sedans.

Super Bowl Debuts

Moving along, Acura is launching its first-ever Super Bowl ad. Interestingly enough, it will feature Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno to promote the NSX supercar concept. Both of these comedians, of course, are well-known for their hit shows on NBC, which is the network airing this year’s game.

While it isn’t using any pop-culture stars, Lexus — like Acura — is rolling out its first-ever Super Bowl commercial, as well, spotlighting the 2013 GS. Likewise, Toyota is promoting its “Reinvented” Camry and returning to the big game for the first time since 2009.