1:47 p.m. ET

Welcome to Adweek's live blog of the ads of Super Bowl XLV. I'm Tim Nudd of Adweek, and I'll be narrating the festivities, with input starting around 6 p.m. from my Adweek colleagues, top advertising creatives, and some other friends of ours. See the "Bloggers" link above for a full list.
  We already know some of what to expect from this evening's commercials.
  • There will be a ton of car advertising, with at least seven automakers lining up at the starting line, along with several auto-related marketers along for the ride.
  • There will be celebrity cameos—Kim Kardashian for Skechers, Richard Lewis and Roseanne Barr for Snickers, Justin Bieber and Ozzy Osbourne for Best Buy, Faith Hill for Teleflora, Adrien Brody for Stella Artois, and a claymation version of Eminem for Lipton Brisk, to name just a few.
  • Perennial Super Bowl advertisers who are back again this year include Bud and Bud Light, Coca-Cola, CareerBuilder (bringing back its chimpanzees after a five-year hiatus) E*Trade (and its talking babies) and GoDaddy. Doritos also returns with its "Crash the Super Bowl" contest, this time bringing PepsiMAX along—so, expect a total of six spots created by the public for those two brands.
  • An early contender for best commercial of the night is Volkswagen's Darth Vader spot from Deutsch/LA (unveiled earlier this week). Surely among the worst, or at least the strangest, will be the new HomeAway.com spot, in which a baby is thrown forcefully against a glass window.
  So, join us after 6 p.m. ET tonight, as we enjoy the highs and lows of advertising's biggest night. Who knows, maybe the game itself will be entertaining, too.

4:36 p.m. ET

Sorry, lady wearing the Patriots jersey at the grocery store. It's not going to happen this year.

4:45 p.m. ET

Lots of pre-game buzz about what Groupon's spot might look like. It's not going to be the horror show we posted on AdFreak on Thursday. And it's also not going to be the spot below, which Groupon says "didn't make the cut."

4:50 p.m. ET

The Hollywood Reporter has a piece up about Super Bowl spots that were released early this year. The big winner there is clearly Volkswagen's Darth Vader spot, below. Posted to YouTube on Wednesday, it already has nearly 13 million views.

5:02 p.m. ET

Twitter is obviously going to be a nuthouse tonight. Two comments being shared widely so far by advertising geeks:
  • TBWA's Rob Schwartz: "The $3M brands spend on Super Bowl spots isn't only for the spots. It's the price a brand pays to be in the cultural conversation."
  • Lee Clow's Beard: "The difference between being heard and being listened to can be an expensive lesson to learn."

5:21 p.m. ET

From Chip Bayers:
  "I'm sitting here an hour and a half before kickoff, flipping between the Celtics game and the pre-SB hype, and I think we may already be able to declare the winning commercial on the night: I've just gotten what's at least the 10th share by a Facebook friend of the Volkswagen "Star Wars" spot. And none of the people sharing this on FB work in the advertising or auto industries, let alone for Volkswagen or the agency (my sister, a schoolteacher, was one of the first to pass it on). Granted, a lot of the other ads haven't been pre-released to the Net, but the viral success of this one, even before the vast bulk of the American public has seen it broadcast, is off the charts."

5:25 p.m. ET

From Brian Morrissey:
  "Groupon debuted its first real TV spots during the pregame show. It went the celebrity route with a batch of offbeat ads that poke fun at charity-style spots. The commercials mostly play it down the middle. Elizabeth Hurley's bikini-waxing spot is a bit risque. Cuba Gooding Jr.'s turn is regrettable. Groupon CEO Andrew Mason blogs that the company's "peculiar sense of humor" made finding an agency tough. In the end, Groupon clicked with Crispin Porter + Bogusky. A nice touch: Groupon is matching $100,000 donations to the three charities in the ads."
  A Groupon spot will Sheryl Crow will air during the game.

5:42 p.m. ET

The Onion has a prediction: "GoDaddy ads will alert viewers there are uncensored videos of actual pornography on basically every other Internet site."

5:45 p.m. ET

From Brian Morrissey:
  "The mystery of who is behind the Darth Vader mask in the Volkswagen spot might be over. Michael Muhney, an actor on The Young and The Restless, says a boy on the show is the star of 'The Force.' "
  The Oscars aren't far off, are they?

5:53 p.m. ET

From Jamie Barrett:
  "Anyone who puts a spot on the Super Bowl is brave. You're saying to the world: Here's the very best thing I can do with 30 seconds, and you're serving it up in front of 100 million liquored-up critics. There'll be enough anonymous boobirds out there in webland, so I call the role of Mr. Positive Pants today. I'm gonna look for the good stuff. And based on all the previews we're getting this year, there'll be more of the good stuff than usual."

5:59 p.m. ET

We have our first environmental scandal of the Super Bowl: this Cuba Gooding Jr. spot making fun of dwindling whale populations isn't going over well with animal-friendly folks on Twitter.

6:01 p.m. ET

From Dan Fietsam:
  "So I am in place at a 'civilian' party - i.e., non-ad people. So I will be monitoring my own visceral reactions—the reactions of the civilians here at the party—and then I'll be checking my Twitter and FB to see how it is going down there as well."

6:03 p.m. ET

From Andy Azula:
  "Just setting up now. Sliders on the grill. Will be watching the game with my wife, 9-year-old twins, my in-laws and our new puppy. Oh, and my son says: GO STEELERS! (At least now I know who I'm rooting for.) At this point, anyone who has a spot in the game should just sit back and actually enjoy the game. And enjoy watching their own spot as it appears before more people at one given time than seems possible."
  Andy, there is also the Puppy Bowl airing on Animal Planet, if the dog lovers start complaining.

6:09 p.m. ET

Pregame is sponsored by Ford's Focus Rally America. I'd tell you more, but Focus Rally's Web site is down. (Actually, they're calling this the "pre-kick show." Because the "pre-game" show began around noon or so.)

6:13 p.m. ET

Before the National Anthem, check out Billboard's ranking of the 10 worst National Anthem performances ever at the Super Bowl.

6:17 p.m. ET

From John Butler: "Let the level 1 security event begin! I'm ready to check out some killer spots. Go Packers."

6:19 p.m. ET

Super Bowl watching tips from @bradsoroka on Twitter: "Start DVR. Drink beer. Then fast forward through the football to stop and watch the commercials. That is why I'm in advertising."

6:21 p.m. ET

David Armano opines on Twitter: "Super Bowl ads are not about selling product. They are about getting noticed." Can they not do both?

6:23 p.m. ET

From Chip Bayers: "Sure, the Coen Brothers SAY there are no plans for a Big Lebowski sequel after Tara Reid appeared to leak, then retract that news earlier this week. But in the wake of Tara, we've also got the Lebowski-style dream sequence, complete with Jeff Bridges voiceover, in the Hyundai "Deprogramming" ad on the way tonight (and already on You Tube). And now we see Sam Elliot doing the team introductions in the pre-game show! Forget the Coen statement: This has to be a subliminal campaign for Lebowski II: Return of the Dude, doesn't it?"

6:25 p.m. ET

Thankfully it was Christina Aguilera doing the anthem and Roseanne Barr appearing in an ad tonight (for Snickers) ... and not the other way around.

6:30 p.m. ET

We'll start keeping track of the ads with the first commercial pod after kickoff.

6:31 p.m. ET

From John Butler: "The Michael Douglas piece for the NFL was nice and spot on. That's what this is, two blue-collar teams slugging it out. This should be a great game. Maybe for once, the game will be better than the spots."

6:32 p.m. ET

From Rob Walker: "Just turned on the TV. Considered blowing this off when I read this morning that there will be no cheerleaders. Anyway, so psyched that the lead-in emphasized the teams' links, via their names/histories, to the vanished glory of American industry! Waiting for ads."

6:33 p.m. ET

@TodaysBullshit speaks for a nation on Twitter with this comment: "Who's ready for Joe Buck to ruin another major sporting event?"

6:36 p.m. ET

From Dan McQuade: "Curt Menefee announced we were 'moments away from kickoff' on the pre-game show at 5:50. A moment is much longer than I thought it was."

6:38 p.m. ET

Someone just dropped the ball. And it wasn't HomeAway.com ... yet.

6:38 p.m. ET

From Jamie Barrett: "I promised to be Mr. Positive Pants today, but if Joe Buck's shirt were a commercial, I'd ding it. But it's not. So I won't."

6:46 p.m. ET

First ads of the night:
  • Bud Light: Beer brightens up a home in fake home-improvement show "Hack Job."
  • Doritos: Guy torments pug, pays for it.
  • Audi: Rich folks who are slaves to "old luxury" break out of prison.
  Kenny G, providing sweet tones and his own sweet face to the Audi spot, might be the best celebrity cameo of the night, and there's only been one commercial pod so far.

6:47 p.m. ET

From Brian Morrissey: "Doritos continues to prove that professional ad people will always have jobs. Did anyone not see it coming that the dog would run through the door?"

6:47 p.m. ET

From Chip Bayers: "Wouldn't have expected Bud Light's first ad of the evening to appeal to regular watchers of HGTV. The Audi ad was all promise and no payoff. But I shouldn't be surprised. The 300+ teaser ads they had on the Web for this campaign were awful."

6:52 p.m. ET

NEW SPOTS:
  • Doritos: Gut licks cheesy Doritos paste off another dude's hand, steals another guy's cheesy pants.
  • Chevrolet: Old folks fail to comprehend Chevy Cruz spot.
  • PepsiMAX: First gratuitous violence of the night, as wife pegs bystander with a can.
  At least Chevrolet is being honest. Did anyone understand that spot?

6:53 p.m. ET

From Dan McQuade: "That home-improvement Bud Light commercial was lazy. This is maybe the fifth commercial this year with the theme of, 'Guys will act really stupid for a Bud Light!' The Super Bowl demands something a little more clever, I think. It also would have been funnier if home-improvement shows were anything novel. In 2011, that joke should have been about hoarders."

6:54 p.m. ET

Dan, by my count, that is the 45,748th commercial in Bud Light's history with the theme of, "Guys will act really stupid for a Bud Light!"

6:54 p.m. ET

From Rob Walker: "So far the themes of violent disfunction, rage, and mockery seem oddly prevalent—old people are funny, people smashing cans at each is funny, a dog crashing through a door is funny, and a freak who sucks Dorito cheese dust is funny. Why so cynical?"

6:56 p.m. ET

From Eleftheria Parpis: "The first of the Doritos 'Crash the Super Bowl' winner. We've seen this dog bites man scenario before for other bands, so I'm surprised to see it make it to the Super Bowl. Pugs are cute, guys are dumb. Yawn. First laugh out loud ad moment thanks to Audi. Great action sequences. 'Him 'em with the Kenny G.' first of the best lines on the Super Bowl."

6:58 p.m. ET

NEW SPOTS:
  • Bud Light: Prominent product placement.
  • Chevrolet: Tommy fell down the well, and it only goes downhill from there. Chevy to the rescue.
  • Movie trailer for Fast Five.

6:58 p.m. ET

From Dan Fietsam: "Man licking Dorito Dust. Got a lot of civilian laughs here. I think we've loosened up as a society since the Snickers Mechanics making out out-rage a couple years ago."

6:59 p.m. ET

From Tiffany Rolfe: "Bud Light. Kitchen makeover show. Got a laugh out of me. The familiar humor seems to go over well with this Buffalo Wings crowd. Sitting in a hotel lobby in Vail, Colo., I'm got instant crowd feedback live. Unfortunately Doritos followed that up with a similar construct, so it didn't get as big of a laugh. Maybe the random media placement is to blame. Could barely hear the Audi ad, but I have an Audi, so I'm always drooling when I see those cars. Kenny G, where has he been?  Everyone in this bar apparently missed him."

7:00 p.m. ET

From John Butler: "OK, the Doritos 'creepy guy who sucks the finger and licks the pants' spot made me laugh. I suppose it does have a product benefit, whatever they put on those things is pretty irresistible. So, I give that one an orange thumbs up."

7:00 p.m. ET

From Andy Azula: "My kids laughed out loud at the Doritos spots. Yes, both of them. But didn't even snicker at the Pepsi Max spot. That home-improvement Bud spot felt pretty small."

7:01 p.m. ET

From Rob Walker: "Bud Light should have signed up Morgan Spurlock for a cameo in that product placement riff."

7:05 p.m. ET

NEW SPOTS:
  • PepsiMAX: First crotch shot of the night.
  • Doritos: Feeding the fish with Doritos.
  • Hyundai: Don't be hypnotized.

7:06 p.m. ET

From John Butler: "So far, not wild about the Bud Light spots so far, and we've seen two. I didn't quite follow the 3 Musketeers spot. They seem to punch these things out, and they traditionally have been funny in that every man sort of way ... but these seem on the low budget side of things for SuperBowl ads, and haven't really been that funny. I think A-Rod getting fed pop corn by Cameron Diaz was way funnier personally."

7:08 p.m. ET

NEW SPOT:
  • Kia: "One epic ride."
  The Kia spot follows the Optima through space and time, from present-day Earth (where we get a Bond sequence and a Poseidon cameo) to an alien landscape and eventually to the Aztecs, who are impressed as hell by the car. One question seems obvious: Are people going to buy that the Kia Optima is really an epic ride? I mean, it's a Kia. (Seeing the spot earlier this week, AdFreak reader said "One Epic Ride" should in fact be named "One Epic Fail.")

7:10 p.m. ET

NEW SPOT:
  • Lipton Brisk: a claymation Eminem
  He doesn't do commercials, except he does. Get it?

7:11 p.m. ET

From Dan Fietsam: "Boy, forget product placement—this year it's product as projectile. I do think the trend of consumer generated has to be over. The product to the head/crotch joke can only be told so many times. PepsiMAX got no civilian laughter here."

7:11 p.m. ET

From Chip Bayers: "Shockingly, the first baby ad of the night was not from E-Trade. Was there a prop bet on that one?"

7:12 p.m. ET

From Rob Walker: "I totally enjoyed the Eminem Brisk commercial! He's such a good actor, and it's all in his voice. But I really liked it because the notion of Eminem drinking Brisk in real life is preposterous."

7:12 p.m. ET

From Tiffany Rolfe: "That was the biggest Kia add I've ever seen. I was like, is this an ad for Stargate 2? Wait, has there been a Stargate 2 already?  My husband giggled and said, 'I like that.' I never realized how many ads there were during the Super Bowl. Each time I go to write something during the game, the ads start up again. We need to calm down people! Shit, just missed the Eminem Brisk ad. Huh?"

7:13 p.m. ET

From John Butler: "Kia Optima. It looked like they spent more dough than Cowboys & Aliens. Lotta money to pay off a tagline, 'One Epic Ride.' So far, it was probably the biggest production we've seen, though."

7:15 p.m. ET

From Eleftheria Parpis: "Kia: I know it's all special effects and eye candy, but it's a hell of a lot of fun to watch. When did Poseidon last make a Super Bowl appearance? Can't say a Kia might be worshipped in any way, but the ad's entertaining nonetheless. It's a Clash of the Titans kinda thing. Eminem and Lipton Brisk? I love claymation, and I was a fan of this original campaign. But couldn't they come up with a better idea than a putting Eminem in a 'That's why I don't do commercials' scenario?"

7:16 p.m. ET

From Tiffany Rolfe: "I did like the Eminem Brisk thing. The animation seemed cool. Brisk tea in the house now, BITCHES. I'm a big tea fan. So I'm all about making it cool."

7:18 p.m. ET

NEW SPOTS:
  • Bridgestone: Guy needs great tires to nip a "Reply all" in the bud.
  • Chevrolet: History is made (again) with the Chevy Volt.
  • GoDaddy: New ".co" girl is revealed. It's ... Joan Rivers. What?

7:19 p.m. ET

From Jamie Barrett: "Bridgestone! Out of nowhere! Score. The ad leader after quarter one, for me. Topical, funny, well-produced. And they managed to incorporate some message about tire traction or something. Good one."

7:21 p.m. ET

From Rob Walker: "I think that Volt ad totally benefits from the context it ended up in: It's the first ad tonight that's been earnest in any way, that really suggested there was something on offer, some reason for the viewer to care (other than the hope of yuks via somebody getting hit in the face or crotch with a dog or a can of something). It stands out simply by not being a cheap shock-laff ad, and that reinforces the possibility—the hope?—that maybe the Volt will actually amount to something productive in the marketplace. It actually should have been longer. They should have bought a whole pod."

7:22 p.m. ET

From Alex Koppelman: "That Eminem commercial for Lipton Brisk wasn't a lie: Before this, Eminem has rather notoriously not done endorsements. That's not because, as the ad implies, he was holding out for something as good as Brisk Iced Tea, but because his team long thought (probably correctly) that as a white rapper, he stood to lose more in credibility than he'd gain in short-term dollars. Interesting choice, breaking that practice with Lipton—not exactly the first brand you'd expect him to endorse."

7:23 p.m. ET

From Dan McQuade: "I don't get the GoDaddy ads. The only people who would go online to see what happens next in these (allegedly) racy ads are children, who (a) probably already know how to find actual porn on the Internet and (b) aren't registering too many domain names. It's nice to see Joan Rivers still getting work, though."

7:26 p.m. ET

NEW SPOTS:
  • Budweiser: Peter Stormare lightens up, sings "Tiny Dancer" after a Bud in Western theme.
  • Faith Hill helps sound engineer craft Valentine's Day message for Teleflora. His heart is not in the right place.
  • Trailer for the next Transformers film.

7:26 p.m. ET

From Tiffany Rolfe: "I am now going to check out Joan Rivers as a hotty at godaddy.com. Wow, look at that. I have to say, all that plastic surgery is finally working out for her. Is that head replacement? Man I hope I can get that when I'm 80."

7:29 p.m. ET

NEW SPOTS:
  • BMW: visits Spartanville, S.C., to make the X3. Designed in America, built in America.
  • Motorola: Homage to Apple's "1984" for the Zoom.
  • BMW diesel spot with Bowie.

7:29 p.m. ET

From David Griner: "Budweiser, Tiny Dancer: Obviously, nothing speaks directly to the American beer lover quite like Peter Stormare and Elton John."

7:31 p.m. ET

From Brian Morrissey: "Bud.tv is barely a memory: Budweiser's commercial directed viewers to its Facebook page. Expensive lesson learned."

7:32 p.m. ET

From Tiffany Rolfe: "Awesome, Budweiser going after the gay crowd with Tiny Dancer. It's about time. Everyone wants to enjoy a beer. It's not just about guys who love big titties."

7:34 p.m. ET

NEW SPOTS:
  • Coca-Cola: Ice and fire dragons.
  • Trailer for Thor.
  • Volkswagen: Darth Vader. The most anticipated commercial of the night, already viewed 13 million times on YouTube. The 30-second version, not the :60.

7:35 p.m. ET

From Jamie Barrett: " 'Your rack is unreal' in the Teleflora spot. Best use of the word 'rack' in commercial history. We underestimate the impact of a good catch phrase... 'Your rack is unreal may well be in the vernacular by Monday."

7:36 p.m. ET

From Dan Fietsam: "Volkswagen's 'The Force' is exactly that. A Force of creativity. Great idea. Incredibly well executed on all levels. Acting, casting, editing. This spot transcends the game. Bravo, VW."

7:37 p.m. ET

From Eleftheria Parpis: "What was so refreshing about the Western-themed Budweiser commercial is that it took an icon that has been used over and over again in Super Bowl ads with varied success and made it feel fresh. The casting, and most of all the choice of an Elton John song as the music. Thanks, Anomaly."

7:37 p.m. ET

From Rob Walker: "Kinda loved the Coke ad, since it seems to indicate their new growth strategy involves capturing the 'nonexistent creatures' market. But let's face it, if Coke is good enough for nonexistent creatures, it's good enough for you."

7:38 p.m. ET

From Tiffany Rolfe: "I had already seen the VW ad five times before the spot came on. But the 60. I missed the storytelling when the 30 just came on. But my, how can you compete with that cuteness? Such a funny, cute spot. A great win for VW. But I hope it was a real kid in there and not a little person. Not that I have anything against little people."

7:39 p.m. ET

From John Butler: "There's a fine line between cute and warm and smarmy and stomach churning. The Volkswagen/Vader one works without going there. It's the kind of brief we all would love to get. Not a lot of sheet metal here, but it's entertaining and certainly memorable. Very smart releasing this early for the press bump. Best spot of the night so far."

7:40 p.m. ET

From Andy Azula: "A spot more epic than Kia, thanks to Coke. But it felt a little confusing. And the Vader spot. Over 13 million views even before the game. Simple, great, and the music is perfect. Why do I think there will be a lot more discussion on this one?"

7:42 p.m. ET

NEW SPOTS:
  • Snickers: Richard Lewis and Roseanne Barr are loggers. Luckily, Roseanne gets hit very hard by a log. Belatedly.
  • CareerBuilder: The chimps return.
  • Trailer for Super 8.

7:44 p.m. ET

Roseanne Barr is a champ for agreeing to film a commercial that obviously had the sole goal of smashing her viciously with a giant log. This is some form of atonement.

7:44 p.m. ET

From David Griner: "It seems Snickers missed the mark a bit by casting Richard Lewis as an icon of being 'whiny.' I guess Gilbert Gottfried was attached to another project?"

7:45 p.m. ET

From Brian Morrissey: "My friend Jim put it best: 'Roseanne is no Betty White, and Richard Lewis is definitely no Abe Vigoda.' "

7:48 p.m. ET

From Jamie Barrett: "Snickers and CareerBuilder, both taking great ad franchises and keeping them fresh. Impressive. Not a lot of advertisers can put a spot on the Super Bowl knowing the world is already in on the joke. Good timing on the Roseanne cameo, too. We were due to see her again. It's been a while."

7:51 p.m. ET

NEW SPOTS:
  • Chevrolet: Real-time Facebook status updates on the Cruz. This is supposed to be an automotive point of difference these days?
  • Trailer for Captain America.
  • Castrol's "strongest drive of the playoffs."
  • CarMax: Kid in a candy store, and other things you'd want to be.

7:52 p.m. ET

From Rob Walker: "Somebody must have thought of this already, but what if Super Bowl ad rates varied for the second half, according the spread at halftime? If it's a three-point game at the half, you pay more; if it's an 18-point game, you pay less. Within a predetermined range. (Yes, my thinking is affected by the grim possibility of watching a blowout to the bitter end, just to opine about the ads!) Anyway, maybe the Steelers will score here to tighten it up again."

7:53 p.m. ET

From Dan McQuade: "I'm amazed at the number of times the Super Bowl halftime show is advertised. Don't we already know there's going to be one? Surely people already know who's performing. On a side note, I am disappointed MTV no longer counter-programs the halftime show with Beavis and Butthead."

7:54 p.m. ET

From Rob Walker: "Where were all the people throwing Pepsi cans during that Chevy ad? The guy who, whatever, has a car that makes it easier to update his sappy Facebook status?? I really, really wanted that guy pelted with objects, attacked by a dog, and licked into submission by Dorito freaks."

7:55 p.m. ET

From Alex Koppelman: "Great timing on that Castrol ad, which replayed moments from the Steelers' comeback victory earlier in the playoffs. With the way this game is going, advertisers have to be worried that their second-half spots won't get the kind of audience they'd like. Now, viewers see that the Steelers can turn this thing around. (Personally, since I'm a die-hard Ravens fan, watching that commercial was quite painful.)"

7:58 p.m. ET

Robert Christgau, 1980: "Why is it always Bobby Kennedy or John Lennon? Why isn't it Richard Nixon or Paul McCartney?" The 2011 version: "Why is it always Roseanne Barr and Richard Lewis? Why isn't it Julia Roberts and George Clooney?"

7:59 p.m. ET

From John Butler: "Chevy Cruze: Who cares about the ride when you can stay connected to your Facebook friends?! I'm all for cars packed with technology, but this seems self-indulgent. Just like Facebook."

7:59 p.m. ET

From David Angelo: "Liked the Carmax spot. Only downside is that its too much math if you've been drinking."

8:01 p.m. ET

From Dan Fietsam: "First half: Volkswagen definitely way out ahead, operating on a different level. I feel like the consumer generated spots (Doritos and Pepsi Max) are making meta-Super Bowl ads—i.e., spots that are spots about Super Bowl ads, or what they think a Super Bowl spot should be, whereas 'The Force' shows what creative can be done in the hands of people who know what they are doing. Outside of that, I think Teleflora was a hilarious dialog spot and the performance was excellent. I also enjoyed the Carmax spot for its randomness but felt let down and no denouement. Other than that, Bridgestone 'Replay all' was funny film hi-jinks, but the 'Replay all' gag feels too 2003. All in all, the Force is with us, folks."

8:01 p.m. ET

From Chip Bayers: "The Faith Hill Teleflora ad, like the earlier Audi spot, was not served well by its three-minute Web teasers. Faith Hill over those longer stretches couldn't have been more wooden, with a distinct lack of enthusiasm for the product."

8:02 p.m. ET

We're into local commercials now, ahead of the halftime show.

8:05 p.m. ET

From Eleftheria Parpis: "Volkswagen: Blockbuster spot that does a great job of using a much-beloved pop culture icon, Star Wars, to highlight the Passat. Great storytelling from Deutsch. And the nostalgia works. Brings back memories for me. I always preferred Vader to Princess Leia. And now Leia is doing Jenny Craig commercials. So there.
  Snickers: Nothing tops the Betty White moment of last year's Snickers spot, but BBDO's sequel is pretty funny. Take what's most annoying in those two comedians, and let it carry the physical comedy. Who doesn't want to see Rosanne Barr get hit by a tree?
  Facebook status updates on the Chevy Cruz. Even though it's tapping into the popularity of the social-networking site, the question is: Should it really be the main reason for buying a car?"

8:06 p.m. ET

From Chip Bayers: "Second-half sponsors getting a big boost from the injuries in the Green Bay defensive secondary—Woodson and Shields go down, Steelers immediately score a touchdown to keep it competitive."

8:07 p.m. ET

From Alex Koppelman: "On Twitter, veteran GOP strategist Mike Murphy makes an interesting point: 'BMW clean diesel ad with shot of smoking Mercedes is a cheap shot; MB is long time innovator in diesel and leads in clean diesel tech.' "

8:11 p.m. ET

From Tiffany Rolfe: "Now, in the words of my hubby 'We have to watch a crap concert in the middle of the Super Bowl?' But it's the thing I look forward to. The Black Eyed Peas, now that's a successful ad agency/media company."

8:12 p.m. ET

From Rob Walker: "Awesome that Black Eyed Peas act now includes being encircled by hundreds of dancing people pretending to like them."

8:14 p.m. ET

From Alex Koppelman: "That Chatter.com ad, which featured the Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am, may be the only part of this Super Bowl worse than the Black Eyed Peas' actual performance. The sad thing is (and I say this knowing just how cliched and snobbish it sounds, but it's true) that the Black Eyed Peas really were good about 10 years ago, before they were the stars they are today."

8:15 p.m. ET

Volkswagen's Darth Vader spot from Deutsch/LA is clearly a big winner from the first half. But it's not as good in its 30-second version. Why not spring for the :60 (the one on YouTube)? It's been pre-approved by 13 million people. Not that they knew that at the time of the buy.

8:23 p.m. ET

NEW SPOTS:
  • Animated Chatter.com spots before and after the halftime show.

8:24 p.m. ET

From Rob Walker: "As if to prove Tiffany Rolfe's point about being 'a successful ad agency/media company,' the Black Eyed Peas turned their set into a kind of amazing spectacle. Usher shows up for like 30 seconds to provide a celebrity endorsement of other celebrities! That Slash & Fergie bit was actually great, precisely because it was enjoyable without making sense whatsoever, sort of the goof-off mashup aesthetic in real life. All leading up to the inevitable 'Owe It All To You/Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night' (whatever it's called) finale, with their fake audience-admirers dancing with boxes on their heads! C'mon! They moved units."

8:27 p.m. ET

From Eleftheria Parpis: " 'The Force' from VW definitely takes the first half. Bud's use of music puts it among my favorites of the first half. Sequels are never as good as the first, but I liked what Snickers did with Richard Lewis and Rosanne Barr. Funny. The geek in me loved the Coca-Cola animation and the special effects in the Kia Optima spot."

8:33 p.m. ET

From Jamie Barrett: "I'm three beers in, so I'm probably pretty representative of the average American ad viewer. The first half ads I could play back to you? VW, CareerBuilder, Snickers and Teleflora. Bud and Bud Light seemed just OK. I might be missing one or two. But like I said, I'm keeping the beers coming in my effort to represent the average American ad viewer."

8:38 p.m. ET

NEW SPOTS:
  • Cars.com: Sometimes it's better to let others go first.
  • E*Trade: Baby does well enough in the stock market to get a tailor. Then messes with his goatee.
  • Best Buy: Justin Bieber and Ozzy Osbourne.

8:40 p.m. ET

We just asked AdFreak's 37,700 Twitter fans to name the best spot of the first half. Clear winners from the crowd: Volkswagen (Vader), Audi, Doritos, Budweiser and Teleflora. And many mentions of "Reply All," although people have already forgotten who the ad was for (Bridgestone).

8:43 p.m. ET

From Dan Fietsam: "E*Trade baby still continues to work well. 'That's a perfect Enzo' is a super funny line. And the end of the spot was freakin' terrific. Cars.com was funny too—detached reaction to being assualted by arrows is always funny. Best Buy felt like about four ideas in one, and none of them seemed to surface. The PowerPoint slides in the middle of the spot didn't help, kinda broke the spell. Question: Is that a new E*Trade baby, btw?"

8:45 p.m. ET

NEW SPOTS:
  • Trailer for the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie.
  • Mini: "Cram it in the boot." Seemed like something Axe would do.
  • HomeAway.com. Baby gets thrown against the wall. Ha?

8:46 p.m. ET

From Tiffany Rolfe: "I know my agency (Crispin Porter +Bogusky) did that Best Buy ad, but I kinda love it. How can you not love a little Bieb and looney Ozzy? Also, E*Trade babies are still pretty funny. Oh, and is it appropriate to drink a Pinot during the Super Bowl? C'mon Pittsburgh. Do some shit, so this turns into a GAME. Oh shit. 21-17 now. Yeehaww."

8:47 p.m. ET

From Brian Morrissey: "Yikes to HomeAway.com. The injured-baby ad didn't go over so hot, at least in my neck of the woods."

8:48 p.m. ET

From Dan McQuade: "I understand people actually like the E*Trade baby. I will never be able to get my head around it. The way his mouth moves creeps me out so much. I actually clenched my fists and yelled, 'Damn you, E*Trade baby!' when I saw that commercial. (It was involuntary! I didn't even notice. A friend pointed it out.) I don't think I've hated a product spokesbaby so much since... well, ever, I think."

8:48 p.m. ET

From Andy Azula: "Did I miss something with that Best Buy spot? Really, really confusing. The CarMax ad was funny. And apparently babies are now disposal. Maybe it was meant to be a dummy in the HomeAway spot, but everyone else was real, and the baby blinked twice before sliding down. So, shock points—sure. But, I think it's too distracting. Makes you forget the point."

8:49 p.m. ET

From Chip Bayers: "HomeAway's baby beating was that much worse on my 42-inch HDTV, after I first saw it on my computer earlier today."

8:51 p.m. ET

NEW SPOTS:
  • Hyundai: Kaleidoscopic spot with the legs.
  • Groupon spot with Timothy Hutton talking about Tibet ... or rather, a Tibetan restaurant in Chicago.
  • Coca-Cola spot at the border crossing.

8:52 p.m. ET

From Rob Walker: "Wow, that 'test baby'; sliding down the glass after being catapulted—that was harsh. Certainly more memorable, as an image, than the hotel-related dot-com being advertised, which I didn't recognize and have already forgotten!"

8:53 p.m. ET

From Eleftheria Parpis: "Ozzy looking as scary and Beiber as cute as ever for Best Buy. Love the 'Crazy Train' reference. Great upgrade joke from CP+B for Best Buy's buy back program. Ozzy: 'What's a Beiber?' A definite keeper on the best lines from tonight's ads."

8:55 p.m. ET

NEW SPOTS:
  • Adrien Brody sings for Stella Artois.
  • CarMax: guy thinks he's being carkjacked.
  • X-Factor promo. Simon returns.
  Here's a recommendation: See Brody in 1993's King of the Hill. It's a lot better than that Stella spot was.

8:56 p.m. ET

From Rob Walker: "Groupon: You thought we cared about Tibet and human rights and like that. But—psych!—we don't! We just care about saving a few bucks! Ha ha ha ha!"

8:57 p.m. ET

From Dan Fietsam: "Must say that HomeAway.com is the most godawful spot of the night. The civilian response here was incredibly poor. And Mini's 'Cram it in the boot' just re-did the Bud Light's 'Take it in the can' spot in an Axe-like 'Wash your balls' execution."

8:57 p.m. ET

From Alex Koppelman: "Really, Groupon? You couldn't think of anything better for your ad than exploiting the oppression of Tibet? Lame. (And I say this as someone who thought Kenneth Cole's tweet about the protests in Egypt was pretty funny.) Also: If you're going to flop so spectacularly with an ad, at least make it memorable. This one wasn't."

8:58 p.m. ET

From David Griner: "Mocking the plight of the oppressed is Super Bowl ad-debut gold. Awkwardly played, Groupon. Can't wait for the fourth-quarter joke about Myanmar."

9:03 p.m. ET

NEW SPOT:
  • Chrysler: Eminem once again. The hottest fires make the hardest steel. It's as much about where it's from as who it's for. This is Motor City, and this is what we do. He wasn't drinking Lipton Brisk in this spot.

9:03 p.m. ET

From Jamie Barrett: "The game is getting better, the ads are getting worse. E*Trade baby continues to rule, though. Who doesn't stop and listen when one of those comes on? We all do. Ad geeks and non-ad geeks alike."

9:04 p.m. ET

From Chip Bayers: "The fact that Rob Walker (and I'm sure he wasn't alone) ended up thinking HomeAway was hotel-related—when the theme of the ad was exactly the opposite (hotels are BAD, stay in a HomeAway apartment instead)—is the truest measure of its awfulness. Worse than offending viewers, HomeAway confused them."

9:06 p.m. ET

From Brian Morrissey: "A slice of America is offended by the Groupon commercials, at least judging by Twitter. It could be that Groupon's oddball internal humor doesn't translate well. This is a company whose CEO, remember, when asked him about reports that Google offered $6 billion to buy the company, told The New York Times that he would respond 'only if you want to talk about my other passion, building miniature dollhouses.' "

9:07 p.m. ET

From Jamie Barrett: "Eminem bats one for two. The animated spot ... huh? This Chrysler ad, though, quite strong. It had me ... and it kept me. And the payoff, I bought. Doesn't hurt to have his music underneath the entire time, that's for sure."

9:07 p.m. ET

From Dan McQuade: "That Chrysler ad attacked the media, New York, Chicago, Las Vegas and the capital of the Land of Oz. Then, who showed up but a guy who just became well known for shilling iced tea an hour or so ago. Good luck, Detroit!"

9:09 p.m. ET

From Alex Koppelman: "Continuing my examination of Eminem and the ads in which he's starring: I'm still very surprised to see Em in any ads, much less two of them in one Super Bowl. But the Chrysler sot is the kind of commercial that makes sense for him, and not just as opposed to the Lipton Brisk ad. Shilling, yes, but it felt much more like shilling for his city (something totally respectable in the rap world) than like shilling for a car company. Or an iced tea."

9:10 p.m. ET

From Dan Fietsam: " Chrysler's 'Imported from Detroit' is freaking brilliant. Makes me forget all the bailouts and bullshit. Sorry, but it does. This is the only other spot operating on a different level than the rest of the spots. I mean, just compare this use of Eminem vs. Lipton Brisk. Not even in the same league. And you know what, the civilians here were all sucked in. Works across audiences and makes me wanna go, 'Yes!' "

9:10 p.m. ET

From David Angelo: "Two-minute spot for Chrysler featuring Enimem, all about a new world of luxury. Sorry, but I don't buy it. Not from Detroit and certainly not from Eminem."

9:11 p.m. ET

From John Butler: "Chrysler. Motor City. Produced extremely well. I didn't lose interest. Hard to say whether championing the city where it's from is going to help that brand, though."

9:12 p.m. ET

From David Griner: "Eminem doesn't do ads. Except for the two during this single Super Bowl."

9:15 p.m. ET

From Rob Walker: "I thought the Chrysler spot was rather good. It was certainly bold—compared to, for instance, the earlier ad suggesting Facebook status update convenience as a car selling point. I haven't followed Chrysler marketing so I don't know if 'Imported from Detroit' is a new tagline/theme, but it's certainly an intriguing one. That's very dicey territory they're trying to navigate, but I think they pulled it off here, or came close enough to perhaps spark some interest (some of which will be negative, I assume). As to whether the product itself is any good ... we'll see."

9:20 p.m. ET

HomeAway.com's CEO, Brian Sharples, said this past week: "While everyone loves babies and wouldn't want to see a real infant get mistakenly flung into the air, we hope viewers will get a good laugh from our test baby's unfortunate flight." Brian, they did not. They despise you.

9:22 p.m. ET

From Rob Walker: "Anytime a CEO begins an official statement with 'While everyone loves babies ...,' you can be pretty sure something has gone awry."

9:23 p.m. ET

From Brian Morrissey: "On Twitter, Vinny Warren, the man behind Budweiser's 'Whassup,' comments: 'If I have Eminem in my commercial about Detroit, he's in it from frame one, and he's driving a Chrysler around Detroit.' "

9:26 p.m. ET

From David Griner: "Reasons to buy a car, per Super Bowl ads: Facebook audio updates, Detroit pride, baby Vader, Poseidon."

9:30 p.m. ET

From John Butler: "From the third quarter, I'd say the low points were Groupon's Tibet blunder and the baby face-planting in the HomeAway.com spot. The only thing funnier than a baby talking is a baby talking with a foreign accent, so I found E*Trade enjoyable. And say what you will about the Chrysler spot, people will talk about it, and when was the last time someone talked about Chrysler?  The line 'Imported from Detroit' is pretty good."

9:33 p.m. ET

NEW SPOTS:
  • Trailer for Rango.
  • Cars.com: The reviews are in. (Can Pixar sue over this spot?)
  • Bud Light: dogsitter.

9:34 p.m. ET

From Chip Bayers: "Nice to see some guys finally making some plays in this game—it was turning into a preseason contest, with all the drops, turnovers and penalties. A preseason contest with $3 million ads."

9:36 p.m. ET

NEW SPOTS:
  • Hyundai: Anachronistic city.
  • PepsiMax: "I want to sleep with her, I want to sleep with her, I want to sleep with her, I want to sleep with her, I want to sleep with her, I want to sleep with her..."
  • Trailer for Rio. Supposedly with an embedded code, which wasn't mentioned.

9:37 p.m. ET

From Dan McQuade: "I'm glad Cars.com gave us a Super Bowl commercial where one talking car wants to have sex with another one. My life needed that. Incidentally, cars that want to have sex with each other are way creepier than a talking baby."

9:38 p.m. ET

From Chip Bayers: "Did everyone get their secret code from the 'Rio' ad to unlock the secret Angry Birds levels?"

9:40 p.m. ET

From Eleftheria Parpis: "Eminem's all over this game. The Chrysler spot fits him better than Lipton. It's who he is, and Wieden + Kennedy used him well. Liked the buildup with his music and the detail of the 'Keep Detroit beautiful' sign on the marquee ... the over-the-top drama of it all. Loved the NFL TV mashup of sitcom football moments from Grey. I can remember nearly every one of those scenes and appreciate the flashback. And I'm not even a football fan, so hey NFL, thanks for the love. Low points so far include: Groupon, HomeAway."

9:41 p.m. ET

From Jamie Barrett: "The PepsiMAX 'I wanna sleep with her' spot is funny. In the Super Bowl, dumb equals smart."

9:44 p.m. ET

From Andy Azula: "The ads seem to be getting more forgettable at this point. PepsiMax ads just keep missing. And spots like Cars.com with the talking cars won’t be talked about tomorrow. And I’m going back to find that code!"

9:45 p.m. ET

NEW SPOTS:
  • Bridgestone: beaver.
  • GoDaddy: Go to the Internet to be mildly titillated!
  • Volkswagen: black beetle.

9:46 p.m. ET

From Chip Bayers: "Screen caps for the Rio Angry Birds code are already up on Twitter: http://yfrog.com/h3ahxsj"

9:46 p.m. ET

From Rob Walker: "What exactly is PepsiMAX, anyway? It's like Pepsi, but more so? Pepsi turned up to 11? For the Pepsi fan who wishes their Pepsi could be even more Pepsi-er?"

9:48 p.m. ET

NEW SPOT:
  • Mercedes-Benz: 125th anniversary spot, with Diddy.

9:48 p.m. ET

From Alex Koppelman: "At this rate, for PepsiMAX's next commercial, they're just going to dig up Michael Jackson and set his hair on fire again. My guess is it'll be better received than the ads they've run thus far."

9:49 p.m. ET

From Jamie Barrett: "Um, can we stop talking about ads soon? This game is freaking killer."

9:54 p.m. ET

From Andy Azula: "The VW beetle spot was fun, for sure. Not sure about the racing stripes. Makes me think of Mini Cooper. But it was still great. The Mercedes spot was extremely well produced, but the idea seems old. The cameo from Sean Combs seemed out of place for it. Oh, and the casting for that House promo was great. That kid looks just like the kid from the Mean Joe Green commercial."

9:55 p.m. ET

From Alex Koppelman: "On Twitter, my friend Mike Madden notes that the @amazonmp3 feed is noting the songs that get played in ads tonight, and providing links to buy them on Amazon. Great way to capitalize on people who now can't get 'Black Betty' out of their heads."

9:59 p.m. ET

NEW SPOTS:
  • Chevrolet: A creative concepting meeting comes to life! Aren't you lucky.
  • Verizon: The test man returns (where has he been, anyway), and he loves his iPhone.

10:00 p.m. ET

From John Butler: "House. How many (other than us ad folk) remember the Mean Joe Green spot? My 6-year-old loved the CGI Beetle spot for VW and the dogsitter spot from Bud Light. And it's hard to find a tougher critic."

10:02 p.m. ET

NEW SPOTS:
  • Skechers: Kim Kardashian. Plus, a couple of movie trailers.

10:04 p.m. ET

Skechers spot made perfect use of its star. Entirely airbrushed and forgettable.

10:05 p.m. ET

From Jamie Barrett: "I promised I wouldn't be negative and a hater and a boobird. And then I saw the mindless, amateurish, hopelessly out-of-touch Skechers commercial."

10:05 p.m. ET

From Dan McQuade: "The ad for the movie Limitless had the lead character saying we only use 20 percent of our brain. I though the (incorrect) cliche was that we only use 10 percent! I really expect our Super Bowl ads to get these things right."

10:06 p.m. ET

From Chip Bayers: "As the House ad was an homage to Mean Joe Greene, I thought the racing stripe on the Beetle was an homage to Herbie the Love Bug."

10:08 p.m. ET

From Chip Bayers: "Somewhere in Mississippi, Brett Favre rends his Wranglers in a fit of pique, knowing that Aaron Rogers has as many Super Bowl rings has he does."

10:09 p.m. ET

From Dan Fietsam: "90% of everything is crap, 9% is good, 1% is great. Following that formula, I'll leave the 90% comment-less. 10% = Carmax, Snickers, Bridgestone, Stella, House promo, E*Trade, Teleflora, NFL. 1% = Volkswagen "The Force" and Chrylser "Imported from Detroit."

10:10 p.m. ET

Packers win, but who won the ad game?

10:11 p.m. ET

From Eleftheria Parpis: "Great use of music in the VW Beetle spot—the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion's cover of 'Black Betty.' Liked the return of the Verizon guy. Chevy's Glee integration will be a winner. And finally, oh Sketchers, really?"

10:12 p.m. ET

From John Butler: "Fourth-quarter highlights: the CGI Beetle spot, even though my daughter asked if it was a Dung Beetle. Low point: Skechers. I do really want to see Jurassic Park the TV show, though. It's been fun. Great game!"

10:13 p.m. ET

From Tiffany Rolfe: "I just saw all the comments on the Sketchers commercial but I think I was eating my flourless chocolate cake during that spot. Then my husband reminded me it was Kim Kardashian's ass that starred in the commercial. How did I miss that?"

10:14 p.m. ET

From Rob Walker: "As a final thought: That Camaro ad, followed by Verizon inviting us to drool over the iPhone, made me realize that for all the auto spots, good and bad, I don't think any of the actual autos offered much in the way of a compelling, head-turning design. That's not always the most important thing, I guess, but at least the Camaro should look exciting. And it just doesn't. Anyway, great game, and great commentary from all-a-y'all! Thanks for letting me stop by. My ride is here."

10:16 p.m. ET

From Jamie Barrett: "Overall, these last three hours have made me feel good about what we do. Borderline inspired. One man's rankings? VW #1, Chrysler Eminem #2, and Snickers/CareerBuilder/Teleflora/Bridgestone tied for third. Congrats to all. This was fun."

10:21 p.m. ET

From David Griner: "In the Super Bowl ad race, this was clearly the year of the car. Volkswagen, Audi, Chrysler and Chevrolet cranked out what were arguably the best spots of the night, with clever work also coming from Bridgestone and CarMax. Where were the other usual suspects? Soft drinks and beer both fell short, possibly thanks to PepsiMAX being the stinky rotting albatross around the neck of high-dollar beverage marketing. And despite all the anticipation, digital integration was practically a non-factor across the board. But all told, it wasn't a bad year for entertaining ads, and everyone in the auto-advertising field deserves credit for raising the bar."

10:25 p.m. ET

From Dan McQuade: "The worst ad of the Super Bowl happened after it: Terry Bradshaw awkwardly shilling for the Camaro while awarding Aaron Rodgers Super Bowl MVP. Every other company but GM can hold its head high knowing it wasn't a part of that."

10:26 p.m. ET

That will do it. Relive all the ads here, and thanks for reading.