What are the benefits of advertising during the Super Bowl? What are potential drawbacks?

First of all, it seems to me like the Super Bowl is treated like a national holiday around here. Considering that, it is probably safe to assume that millions of people gather around the television to watch the Super Bowl every year. Ding ding ding, prime time for brainwashing- er, advertising. Advertisers and big companies likely spend millions of dollars to give their product some airtime during Super Bowl season. The benefits, for those corporations, are that they earn a ton of money from consumers exposed to their commercial. I think that even people who aren't fans of the game will enjoy this aspect, and that way it benefits the NFL also because they get more eager viewers and maybe some potential football fans. The benefit for football fanatics is entertainment watching the commercials. The first drawback I can think of is maybe offending someone in an advertisement. After all, it won't be hard to find someone watching the game with an opposing opinion. Another drawback for the company would be the cost of the advertisement. Those millions of dollars could have gone to saving the rainforest, just saying.