General Motors scored with an Armageddon-proof Chevy truck while a Clint Eastwood pep talk for America won notice for rival Chrysler during the high-stakes brand battle at Sunday's Super Bowl.
Companies that spent $3.5 million (R26.5 million) on average for a 30-second spot ran commercials featuring comedy, celebrity and skin as the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots in front of a TV audience estimated to reach about 100 million.
A GM ad that showed a Chevy Silverado truck surviving a 2012 Mayan end-of-the-world scenario won praise from marketing experts.
In the ad, the truck's driver looks for his friend, 'Dave' but learns Dave, who drives a Ford, didn't make it.
HALFTIME IN AMERICA
A pre-game letter from a Ford attorney asked GM not to run the ad, arguing that insurance industry data show it is Ford, and not GM, that makes the safer pickup truck.
In a Chrysler commercial, a Dirty Harry-like Clint Eastwood proclaimed it 'Halftime in America', a reminder of Ronald Reagan's optimistic 'Morning in America' slogan, and chronicled Detroit's fall and rise to rally the rest of the country.
The Eastwood ad generated online buzz for its emotional appeal - and comments that it looked like an Obama re-election commercial.
NFL games, especially the Super Bowl, rank among the dwindling number of TV programs that still draw huge live audiences.
MATTHEW BRODERICK'S DAY OFF
Volkswagen featured a dog getting in shape to chase the new Beetle plus a nod to last year's 'Star Wars'-themed spot with an appearance by Darth Vader in the movie's alien-filled cantina.
In a Honda spot, Matthew Broderick played off his iconic film role as Ferris Bueller by calling in sick and spending a day cruising around town in a CR-V.
GoDaddy, the website for domain names, kept its racy theme going with race-car driver Danica Patrick and fitness trainer Jillian Michaels applying body paint to an apparently nude model. - Reuters