• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, January 29, 2014

Super Bowl ads released on YouTube prior to the 2013 game drove 3.4 times more views on average than commercials released on TV the day of the game. Google is expecting better results this year.

There are more than 55 Super Bowl spots currently posted to YouTube. The latest stats on the most-watched Super Bowl teasers released Wednesday puts Axe Peace: Make Love, Not War in the highest-ranking spot with 3.4 million views.

As of this week, Super Bowl teasers on YouTube have been watched more than 44 million times, up from 20 million times during same week last year. In 2013, Super Bowl commercials were viewed more than 265 million times on YouTube, and 80 million of those views occurred before game day, per a Google spokesperson.

About eight of the 12 most-watched Super Bowl ads on YouTube are from consumer product goods and food and beverage brands. It's not clear if that's because more of these brands released clips earlier than any other category on YouTube.

Aside from Axe, the top five most-watched Super Bowl teasers on YouTube were Sodastream with 3 million views; Doritos Finger Cleaner from the Doritos Crash the Super Bowl contest, 2.8 million views; Butterfinger, 2.7 million; and Dannon Oikos The Spill, 2.2 million.

This year, people have been searching on Google and YouTube for information about a variety of NFL-related topics, including top teams and players, as well as recipes for snacks, such as kale chips, artichoke, Brussels sprouts, chicken wings, and chili.

The championship dominated sports queries on Google. Searches for Seahawks and 49ers each attracted more than 300% of the sports-related queries. Denver Broncos and Patriots followed, each with 250%. The Australian Open came in at 150% of the searches; and Peyton Manning with 100%.