What would you do with 2.6 million dollars? You could pay off your student loans, get rid of your 1989 Mustang and at the very least get out of that apartment that has a questionable substance growing in the left corner of your ceiling behind your TV. Or you could pay for a 30 second advertisement during broadcast of Super Bowl XLI. Yes, you heard it, about 2.6 million dollars to spend 30 seconds telling viewers, who are probably out grabbing another beer from the kitchen, why they should buy your product.

As ridiculous as the amount may sound, the Super Bowl is prime advertising space. It brings in the largest viewing audience of the year, and advertisers will do practically anything to get your attention.

Super Bowl commercials are notorious for being over the top and many people look forward to seeing commercials that have an original spin. Sometimes the commercials are the only reason people watch the game.

The hype of these commercials sometimes causes viewers to be disappointed. Overall, this year’s commercials were a disappointment. There was a big focus on computer graphics and making the ads ‘look good,’ but they lacked substance and originality. There wasn’t any “roll-on-the-floor-laughing” commercials this year.

Aside from the focus on making commercials visually pleasing, there were several old commercials thrown into the mix, which took away from the originality.

CBS got their time in too. If there were anymore “CSI” commercials, there wouldn’t be enough room for football.

Not all of the featured ads were particularly bad, they just didn’t live up to the hype. A few companies pulled through with satisfactory performances that resulted in a giggle, or even deserved a “well, that was clever”.

In the big game this year Anheuser-Busch took over major advertising time by featuring eight commercials throughout the four quarters, not to mention being a game sponsor and getting air time every time one of the announcers spoke. But they proved to give some of the most entertaining ads.

Bud Light gave us the “Fist Bump.” In this commercial we learned that the celebratory ‘fist bump’ is no longer the cool thing, instead the celebratory ‘slap in the face’ has replaced it. The scenes quickly flip through as basketball players slap each other; a bride and a bridesmaid slap each other; friends slap each other, and a used car salesmen slaps his client. In the last scene, one guy gives his executive boss a slap, only problem is, his boss never got the memo.

One of the most hyped Bud Light commercials was called “Movie.” This ad featured a man and woman driving down a dark road when they spot a hitchhiker on the side of the road with an axe in one hand and a case of Bud Light in the other. The woman suggests they don’t pick up the sketchy hitchhiker, but the guy insists because of the case of Bud Light. The next scene goes to the man and woman with the hitchiker in the rear of the car. They spot another hitchhiker out in the road, but this time holding a chainsaw and Bud Light.

Fed Ex, Doritos, Sierra Mist, and Nationwide Insurance also gave us a laugh, but a few companies could have spared their viewers the discomfort of having to watch their ads.

Chevy gave a too close view of many half-naked men of all ages rubbing themselves against a wet and soapy Chevy HHR. The car full of girls cringed as Nelly’s “Hot in Herre” played.

Doritos also pushed things to the edge with their middle aged female checker at a grocery store ringing up a man’s four bags of Doritos. The checker commented suggestively about each bag, getting more and more rigorous every time, until the screen cuts to a single chip exploding, and back to her as she requests a clean up on register six over the loud speaker.

Of course we can’t forget the heartwarming commercials that caused the whole room to sigh. Frito Lay’s tribute to family and black history month was a good contribution and also recognized the historical significance of the two African American head coaches meeting in this year’s game.

Budweiser gave us the warm fuzzies when a down and out dog got his chance to shine as a firedog in a parade.

All in all the commercials were mediocre. They lacked originality, although we may be able to attribute that to the tight rules placed on the Super Bowl by the FCC. They sure don’t want another wardrobe malfunction and that doesn’t leave any room for even the smallest double entendre.