Forget the action on the field at last night's Super Bowl when the New York Giants narrowly beat the New England Patriots 21-17.
The real drama for advertisers was the commercial breaks during the most-watched TV show of the year, which was expected to have pulled in an audience of more than 110 million in the US.
The Super Bowl is widely seen as an advertising bell-wether for corporate America because brands use it to make a statement.
Car firms and online businesses were among the 70 advertisers who shelled out an average of $3.5 million(£2.2 million) per 30 seconds.
No fewer than nine car companies splashed out, including Chrysler which used Clint Eastwood in its two-minute ad, making the cost of the airtime worth up to $14 million.
Big foreign advertisers included Japan's Toyota and Honda, Italy's Fiat and Swedish clothing giant H&M, which ran an ad for David Beckham's new underwear range.
Other notable advertisers included domain name-hosting website Go Daddy and online florist Teleflora.
