Super Bowl Recap: Ads, Halftime, and....oh yeah, the game

When my beloved Carolina Panthers lost to the Seahawks back in 2005, I did something I had never done before. I skipped watching the Super Bowl. Turns out, it wasn't such a bad idea. The game was pretty uneventful, the ads were uninspiring, and the Rolling Stones are...well, old.

This year, things were a bit different. I was rooting for the Bears, and even though they delivered a particularly thrilling first quarter, the Colts ultimately pulled ahead and remained the scoring leader for the rest of the game.

Also, who else thought Prince rocked at halftime? I don't particularly care for these stupid "medleys" of past hits, but I thought he did a damn good job. Maybe I was just hypnotized by the neon lights, fireworks, and breakneck guitar solos. It's been known to happen.

So, on to the ads. This year, there were some pretty clever ads nestled amongst the "been there, done that"s and the standard talking animals, stuntwork, and inspirational messages. Coke decided that instead of us wasting our budget on new commercials, let's just re-air the ads we've been playing in movie theaters across the country for the past six months. Toyota aired a pair of visually impressive, but ultimately dull, ads showing the strength of their new pickup truck. Finally, comedians Jim Gaffigan and Michael Ian Black returned for a new slew of Sierra Mist ads, none of which topped the cleverness and humor of past spots like "Wand" and "Lost and Found", which also feature Kathy Griffin and Tracy Morgan, respectively.

So, who's left? Bud Light may deliver a crappy-tasting beer, but their commercials always go down smooth. This year, they produced two of their best ads to date, the slasher-inspired "Axe" and the utterly hilarious "Fist Bump". Additional spots featured a wedding auctioneer, a particularly brutal game of rock, paper, scissors, and Carlos Mencia.

Despite my outright hatred for Kevin Federline and all that he stands for, his controversial Nationwide ad had me in stitches. Just something about that bald guy who plays his boss hollering "Federline! Fries!" Other effective uses of celebrities came in the form of Robert Goulet's stealth-like reflexes for Emerald Nuts, and a surprise voice-over cameo by Ricardo Montalbahn for Taco Bell.

But, my two favorite ads in this year's Super Bowl were the especially heartfelt assembly line robot ad by GM, and the brilliantly campy Godzilla/Ultraman tribute ad by Garmin GPS Systems. Both ads had a great sense of visual style and humor, and unlike most Super Bowl ads, the concepts for the spots actually supported the message regarding their products, namely GM's concern over quality, and Garmin's desire to eliminate the need for maps.

Of course, thanks to YouTube, it is now possible to rewatch every single Super Bowl ad that aired, and in some cases, much more. The Snickers ad featuring two men almost first-basing invites you to choose one of four alternate endings. The aforementioned Garmin ad also includes interviews with the cast and musicians. Doritos even went as far as to hold a contest in which people submitted their own homemade ads.

Will next year's Super Bowl be made up entirely of amateur commercials made by YouTubers? Or will Bud Light simply buy up all the ad space and air never-ending "Wazzup?" spots? Only time will tell.