10 p.m.: It was a rough night for the Broncos and a rough night for commercials, but there’s always next year. Budweiser was on point as per usual, and Tim Tebow provided some unexpected comedic relief, but overall, the Super Bowl commercials didn’t bring it as much as they have in years past.
Thanks for joining us. We’ll be back at it next year.
9:59 p.m.: Esurance is rewarding those who stuck out all four quarters of the game. John Krasinski stars in the first spot immediately following the game, and The Office star says the less-valuable time slot saved Esurance $1.5 million, so they want to give away that amount of money.
In social media’s biggest monetary giveaway, the auto-insurance company will make someone’s day, and viewers at home simply have to hashtag #EsuranceSave30 to be entered in the contest.
9:55 p.m.: The moment you’ve all been waiting for is finally here! Budweiser’s insanely adorable commercial involving a puppy and a Clydesdale friendship has aired. When all else fails (i.e. Broncos), there’s always puppies.
GoDaddy’s muscular, spray-tan seeking ad came next, followed by the second Doritos commercial of the night.
9:37 p.m.: It didn’t feature Tim Tebow, but T-Mobile’s last spot of the Super Bowl was a pretty good one. There was no alcohol involved (or so they said) but they’re encouraging a brisk break-up nonetheless. A break-up with your wireless contract, that is.
Scarlett Johannson’s not-so-controversial ad for SodaStream also was shown. After originally being rejected for its digs at Pepsi and Coke, the company re-worked its campaign to leave the NFL sponsors out of the commercial.
9:33 p.m.: More car commercials — that’s what you guys wanted, right? Broncos fans certainly deserve a Jaguar for sitting through this effort, but they won’t be handing them out to the sad men and women of Denver.
The Full House cast reunion that you already knew about and probably already have seen finally aired. Danny Tanner, Joey Gladstone and Uncle Jesse teamed up with Dannon to promote its Oikos product.
9:29 p.m.: Steve Gleason just starred in one of the coolest commercials of the Super Bowl. The former New Orleans Saints safety raises awareness for ALS in a spot for Microsoft that also showcases some amazing advancements the company has made. After losing the ability to speak because of the disease, Gleason uses Microsoft technology to communicate during a 30-second ad that was full of inspiration.
9:21 p.m.: So, Adrian Peterson always has been a stud on the gridiron. A kid version of A.P. blows the competition away in Coca-Cola’s second commercial of the night.
9:16 p.m.: Companies who bought spots in the second half are cheering hard for the Broncos right now as they enter the fourth quarter down 38-6. This game might be over, but the commercials aren’t done yet!
9:08 p.m.: American built, American made, American proud. The Chrysler 60-second commercial might have said “America” 60 times, but they’re just really proud to build cars here in the States.
‘Merica.
9 p.m.: Bruce Willis cares about safety, and he also cares about creeping viewers out at home in his commercial for Honda. Hug someone; Bruce said to.
But we hope you have some tissues handy because it’s about to get real dusty in here. Budweiser gave soldier Chuck Nadd a “hero’s welcome” like no other, and it certainly tugged at the heartstrings.
8:55 p.m.: Laurence Fishburne has his time to shine in a Kia spot. The Matrix star could give Renee Fleming, the National Anthem singer, a run for her money with his opera singing.
Heinz carries on the tune and wants to make sure that every time you put ketchup on something, you’ll hum the notes to “If You’re Happy and You Know It …” It was a catchy ad, or ketchy, if you will.
8:47 p.m.: Axe’s “Make Love, Not War” campaign makes its first appearance, but there was no A.J. McCarron appearance, so that’s a shame.
8:40 p.m.: Audi got to its point in a roundabout way. The car company isn’t a fan of compromise, so it used some terrifying examples of dog breeding to prove just how bad the side effects of compromise can be. Sarah McLachlan did appear in a humorous cameo, though, so Audi gets some points for that.
GoldieBlox toy company, which won the free Super Bowl spot, continued its awesome ways with a commercial that showed young girls throwing out conventional toys and trading them in for some interactive, construction ones.
Tim Tebow’s second spot of the night aired next. Without a contract, Tebow is just living the dream by riding a bull and doing everything else that he never had time for before. No contract, no problem for Mr. Tebow.
8:30 p.m.: Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers just brought the house down with that halftime performance.
And Leon Sandcastle now has a new pal, Jerry Ricecake, who was introduced in a commercial for the 2014 NFL draft. He’s all yours, Texans.
8:08 p.m.: Well, that’s a little bit better. A mini Seinfeld reunion just occurred as Jerry, George and even Newman came together for a teaser for Jerry Seinfield’s “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.”
Enjoy the halftime show, folks.
8:04 p.m.: The commercials have been about as underwhelming in the first half as the Denver Broncos, but here’s hoping they’ll pick it up in the second half.
7:58 p.m.: Raise your hand if you’re excited for The Muppets movie. Just me? OK, it’s fine. Kermit and the gang teamed up with Toyota Highlander to cause a ruckus in typical Muppets fashion.
Michael Phelps, Apolo Anton Ohno and Jay Glazer joined forces next in a Subway commercial that we all feel like we’ve already seen a million times.
7:51 p.m.: Coca-Cola just joined the Super Bowl commercial party with a multilingual version of “America the Beautiful.”
The music continued in the next spot with the Sonos stereo system. Using Pandora, Spotify and some seriously awesome mood lighting, the company urges you to “fill your home with music.”
7:46 p.m.: Well, in It’s A Wonderful Life, every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings. It works a little differently over at Volkswagen, though. In the car company’s Super Bowl spot, a father tells his daughter that every time a a VW reaches 100,000 miles, an engineer gets his wings.
Up next, Stephen Colbert teamed up with pistachios, but David Beckham’s H&M ad appeared in the middle of the commercial. A shirtless Beckham, with all of his handsomeness, runs through town after he gets locked out of a studio. Colbert’s advertisement then resumes, and he cracks his head open to reveal that he’s a pistachio. It was a Stephen Colbert sandwich.
7:28 p.m.: Bud Light has a new reclosable bottle, and now you’re up to speed on that latest development.
Tim Tebow has had a rough time locking down an NFL contract, but he might have a chance at getting an acting one. Tebow delivered a baby, tackled Bigfoot and saved puppies from a burning building in a phenomenal commercial for T-Mobile.
7:20 p.m.: The commercials have been decent but not outstanding so far. Peyton Manning would trade spots with them, however, as the Seahawks take an 8-0 lead into the second quarter.
GoDaddy’s first commercial of the night airs, and in a shocking turn of events, it doesn’t feature Danica Patrick. It does star a woman who quit her job and used a puppet to send that message, though. We can’t make this stuff up, folks.
7:15 p.m.: In what must have been a throwback tribute to the ’90s, we just saw commercials from RadioShack and Cheerios.
RadioShack is apparently getting all hip and cool on us, undergoing a makeover, while Cheerios is at heartwarming as ever.
7:11 p.m.: Hey, everyone, U2’s new track “Invisible” is free on iTunes for the next 24 hours. Well, what are you waiting for?!
7:07 p.m.: Our buddy Ian is back from the first Bud Light commercial. In an elevator, his night gets even better when he runs into Don Cheadle, who is with a llama, meets twin girls and plays ping pong with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ian beats The Terminator and finds himself on stage with OneRepublic at a massive concert.
Ellen DeGeneres and Beats join forces in the next spot, which is inspired by “The Three Bears.” After a song that is too fast and a song that’s too slow, she finds the perfect jam to bust a move to.
6:57 p.m.: We have our first movie trailer of the day: Need for Speed. The action flick stars Aaron Paul, and an extended trailer can be viewed online.
John C. Reilly has lended his voice to TurboTax today. In a commercial combining prom and football, the emphasis still centered on taxes. What a bummer.
6:50 p.m.: One of the finalists for Doritos’ $1 million contest just aired, and “The Time Machine” could come away with the big bucks.
It certainly wasn’t as weird as the Chevy Silverado commercial that came next and featured a bull love story of sorts. It was like if Nicholas Sparks wrote love stories for farm animals — only funnier.
6:45 p.m.: Bud Light gets the very first Super Bowl spot with an open-ended ad about a guy named Ian Rappaport, who is “up for whatever.” That means even Ian was up for a safety on the very first play of the game. We’ll see more of Ian later on.
A Maserati commercial followed because of course everyone can relate to that.
6:35 p.m.: I promise, we really are just seconds away from the Super Bowl getting underway now. But right after Joe Namath and his coat won the coin toss, Rob Riggle and James Franco combined for a somewhat humorous advertisement for the Ford Fusion.
6 p.m.: If you feel like the pregame show lasted forever — well, you’d be correct. But we are just a half hour away from kickoff, so get your buffalo chicken dip ready, plop down on your couch and don’t plan on moving for a few hours.
4 p.m. ET: It’s time for that one day of the year when TV viewers actually look forward to the commercials. This year’s Super Bowl spots will be filled with entertaining and heartwarming moments, which we know to be true since many of them already have been released.
From Tim Tebow tackling Bigfoot to an adorable puppy-Clydesdale friendship to a ping-pong playing Arnold Schwarzenegger, these commercials are primed to be as engaging as the Denver Broncos-Seattle Seahawks matchup.
A 30-second spot at this year’s Super Bowl costs $4 million, so keep it here on NESN.com to see what that absurd amount of money will get you.
