Super Bowl 46: The Commercials

PRNewsFoto/PepsiCo(INDIANAPOLIS) — The Super Bowl wasn’t just about football and musical performances. The Big Game also marked the debut of several new commercials – new, that is, if you didn’t spoil most of them for yourself by watching them online beforehand.

All of the ads can be viewed on YouTube. Here’s a recap of the major Super Bowl commercials, broken down by quarter:

Pre-Game

Downy: Pittsburgh Steelers legend “Mean” Joe Greene, spoofing his famous Super Bowl Coke ad in which he throws a towel to a young fan, accepts Downy Unstopables from comedienne Amy Sedaris, but she scoffs when he tosses her his dirty jersey.

Hulu Plus: The online programming website builds on its TV-turning-brains-to-mush campaign with Will Arnett, self-described “TV star,” trying to break into Hulu headquarters, located within the “Hollywood” sign in Los Angeles. A follow-up commercial aired during halftime. The campaign previously featured Alec Baldwin and Seth MacFarlane, among others.

Hyundai: An employee, sitting at his cubicle and apparently frustrated at the task at hand, remarks, “It’s impossible. It’s never going to work.” His fellow employees attempt to lift his spirits by singing the theme to Rocky.

There were also previews of the films The Hunger Games and 21 Jump Street, both opening in March, and the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy The Dictator, premiering in May.

First Quarter

Audi: In this Twilight spoof, vampires party in the woods and are having a great time. Suddenly, they’re all killed when another vampire shows up and accidentally points the headlights on his Audi towards them.

Pepsi: Elton John portrays a ruthless king who grants a Pepsi to X Factor winner Melanie Amaro after she sings Aretha Franklin’s “Respect.” The commercial was part of Amaro’s prize for winning the Fox singing competition in December. Flavor Flav makes a last-second cameo.

Hyundai: A man unleashes a cheetah from a cage so it can race a Hyundai Veloster Turbo. The cheetah takes a few steps before giving up. It decides to attack the man instead.

M&M: The candy line unveils a new M&M, “Mrs. Brown,” who wore glasses and chatted two lovely ladies poolside. She was suitably unimpressed by a fellow M&M that danced for her.

Chevrolet: A man and his dog drive out of the rubble in his Chevy Silverado after surviving the Mayans’ predicted 2012 apocalypse.

Second Quarter

GoDaddy.com: Danica Patrick and Jillian Michaels paint an ad for the site on a model’s body.

Budweiser: The retro ad depicts the excitement of bar patrons after Prohibition ended in the 1920s with cases of Bud being delivered — by horse, of course — to their town.

Doritos: A dog humorously bribes a man with Doritos after he discovers that the pooch kidnapped a kitty. In another Doritos ad that aired later in the quarter, a kid munching on the cheesy chips taunts a baby from his treehouse — until an old lady watching the baby slingshots him to the treehouse and retrieves the Doritos.

Chevrolet: A graduate is surprised by his parents with a gift. When he spots a Chevrolet parked by the curb, he assumes it belongs to him, but his present is actually a small refrigerator sitting on the lawn.

General Electric: Employees at a New York GE plant tout the fact that their company’s power allows people to keep their Budweiser drinks cold. It was billed as a GE ad, but clearly Budweiser had a hand in it.

Volkswagen: After casting a small boy as a Darth Vader wannabe in a 2011 Super Bowl commercial, Volkswagen again adopted a Star Wars theme. The ad focuses on a dog undergoing an intense exercise regimen after he gets stuck in a pet door. It’s later revealed that Star Wars characters are watching the ad and debating whether it is better than last year’s Volkswagen commercial. Darth Vader silences one creature who argues the dog is funnier than the “Vader kid.” The ad was set up weeks earlier by the viral video of the dogs barking “The Imperial March (Darth Vader’s Theme).”

H&M: A shirtless, pants-less David Beckham models his line of bodywear for the clothing retailer. His wife, Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham, must be so proud.

Coca-Cola: Animated polar bears fumble around a Coca-Cola bottle on ice. The ad plugged CokePolarBowl.com, on which visitors could watch the bears’ “game watching party.”

Chevrolet: Quirky rock band OK Go appear in the stunt-heavy ad for Chevy Sonic. The commercial was produced in conjunction with the band’s video for “Needing/Getting,” though the featured song in the ad is fun.’s “We Are Young.”

Teleflora.com: Model Adriana Lima seductively puts on her pantyhose and dress before telling male viewers, “Guys, Valentine’s Day is not that complicated: Give and you shall receive.” Translation: Guys, buy flowers for your partner ASAP.

Skechers: No Kim Kardashian this time – just a dog named Mr. Quiggly wearing sneakers in a dog race.

Cars.com: This may have been the creepiest ad of the night. A man at a car dealership says he has confidence because he researched car info on Cars.com. His “confidence” took the form of a second, singing head, attached to an extension on his back.

E*Trade: E*Trade’s talking baby consults a new dad while they both look at his child at a hospital nursery. A baby inside the nursery tells them both, “I’m speed dating.”

Among the films previewed: Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax and Disney’s John Carter, both opening in March, The Avengers and Battleship, both debuting in May, and G.I. Joe: Retaliation, bowing in June.

Halftime

Bud Light: Pop duo LMFAO believes they are playing halftime of the Super Bowl, but instead are brought to a dive bar. The ad plugged their remix of Madonna‘s new single, “Give Me All Your Luvin’.”

The Tonight Show: Jay Leno and Madonna are stuck in an elevator when the late-night host receives a call on his cellphone — and inadvertently reveals that his ringtone is “Like a Virgin.” She simply reacts, “Wow.”

The Voice: The stunt-filled promo shows coaches Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Blake Shelton and Cee Lo Green fighting in a fancy hotel-type setting as they chase after an unseen female performer. That voice turned out to be Betty White, who had been singing in the shower.

Chrysler: In his trademark gravelly voice, Clint Eastwood declares its “halftime of the game and halftime in America,” and discusses the economic challenges the United States faces and how the nation “fights through tough times.” It was a lengthier-than-usual Super Bowl ad: two minutes.

Third Quarter

Fiat: A man is walking down the street when he sees a fetching Italian woman bending over on the sidewalk. She notices him eyeing her and slaps him, then switches gears and flirts with him. It turns out he’d dreamt the whole scenario because he’d just seen the Fiat 500 Abarth for the first time.

Pepsi Max: A Coca-Cola Zero delivery man buys a Pepsi Max at a store, and is horrified to learn that he’s won a contest that grants him Pepsi Max for life. Regis Philbin shows up to celebrate.

Toyota: Boasting that it has reinvented its Camry, Toyota shows off other products it claims to have improved upon, including a couch that comes with female or male models (your choice), a blender that plays Lionel Richie music when in use, a curtain made of pizza, and more.

Dannon: John Stamos refuses to share Dannon Oikos Greek yogurt with a pretty young woman — until she headbutts him to the ground.

Century 21: The real estate company’s employees are seen fraternizing with Donald Trump, Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders and speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno.

Acura: Jerry Seinfeld bribes a man who holds the number-one spot on a waiting list for the Acura NSX – with the Soup Nazi, with observational humor, with access to a zipline system in Manhattan. Just when it seems he’s won the man over, Jay Leno swoops in on a flying suit and steals the guy – and the car – away.

Fourth Quarter

Honda: The most-hyped commercial leading up to the Super Bowl, Matthew Broderick reprises his role of Ferris Bueller in what is essentially a rehash of the popular film – except this time he drives a Honda CR-V, rather than a Ferrari.

MetLife: Charlie Brown and his Peanuts friends are joined by characters from He-Man, Scooby Doo, The Jetsons, Looney Tunes and other classic cartoons.

Hyundai: A young man is driving a Hyundai with his older mentor or boss, who says, “Success in business comes down to one word.” The mentor/boss appears to die before completing the sentence. The panicked driver responds by repeatedly accelerating and hitting his brakes until the older man is revived.

Bud Light: A rescue dog named “Here We Go” fetches Bud Light for its owner.

Kia: Mr. Sandman accidentally throws too much fairy dust onto a sleeping man, who subsequently dreams he’s driving a Kia Optima at a crowded race track as Motley Crue performs. Model Adriana Lima — appearing in her second Super Bowl spot of the day — waves the checkered flag.

CareerBuilder.com: Its latest chimp ad has the suit-wearing primates causing their one human co-worker lots of grief, including placing a “Kick me” sign on his back. The ad was set to The Odd Couple theme.

GoDaddy.com: Two guys imagine Danica Patrick welcoming them to an Internet cloud – literally, a cloud where sexy women reside.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio