Super Bowl 2012: The Year of the Music-Savvy Showdown

Another Super bowl has come and gone with the Giants taking Lombardi home. Going off of last year's record breaking notch of 111 million viewers, and America's "just keep gettin' better" mentality, it's likely that an astronomical number of people sat down and tuned in last night. At least they better have. Advertisers were charged a cool $3.5 million for a 30-second spot of ad space. Compare that to the $512,000 they're charged for a normal game, and you'll understand why it's to their detriment that you drooled over Adriana Lima for teleflora.com. But while everyone is looking to label this years ad line up as the year of the dog, or the year of the model, or the year of the over the hill actor making it that much more clear that he is so over the hill he should be rolling down it by now (MATTHEW BRODERICK), I'm going to go out on a limb and say it was the year of music.

BudandPepsigot the coin toss, butBudcalled it right, kicking off with their newest line of Platinum beer. Soundtracked over that very first commercial wasKanye West's "Runaway,"sample. Because he's a platinum recording artist? Get it?

Turnover on downs andPepsigot control of the viewers with their Pepsi Max commercial, which featuredElton Johnin heels,John Sussmanof "Glee" fame, coveringNelly's "Hot in Here,"Melanie Amaroof not such "X-Factor" fame, coveringAretha Franklin's "Respect,"andFlavor Flavbecause he's not dead yet. Apparently.

Pepsiscored a field goal, andChevyset up for the return.Barry Manilow's, "Look Like We Made It," played over their 2012 apocalypse commercial. Probably the most brilliant use of music in any of the ads this year, givingChevyan easy touchdown and a 2-point follow up.

Volkswagonlooked to follow through on the oldie jam with James Brown's "Get Up Offa That Thang,"but were unfortunately sacked byH and M's close-up bod commercial slow-mo'd toThe Animals "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."You have to appreciate the strategic work ofH and M's defensive line, grabbing topnotch ad space to give the ladies a breather with Beckham.

H and Mpunts andChevyreceives, with their stunt-inspired commercial. Cars bungee jumped and flipped whileF.U.N.'s "We Are Young,"tried stabilizing the ad. Unfortunately it couldn't hold the chord, and that bungee line snapped, putting Chevy on the bench for the rest of the game.

Skecherscame in forChevyplayingTone Loc's "Wild Thang,"over a dog race. Kind of an obvious choice, which is probably why they fumbled, but lucky for them they recovered the ball.Pepsi Maxdidn't like that, so they put in"Your Cheatin' Heart,"rather thanElton John, and it got the job done with an interception. Mark Cuban, ya gotta hold onto that ball buddy!

The original headliners took to battle,Budvs.Pepsi.Pepsivs.Bud. This timePepsipulled through asBudmade a feeble attempt at defensive line, playingFlo Rida's "Good Feeling,"over a confused mish-mash through the decade withBud.Pepsiscores and kicks off to the NFL, who make it to the 50-yard line withRay Charles' "What'd I say."

Kialaces up and gets some action for the first time all night, looking like a coked up cheerleader with their bogeyman commercial that featured"Mr. Sandman,"and a live performance ofMotley Crue playing "Kickstart My heart."Tommy Leelooked to be in bad shape, and collapsed a few seconds after the snap, dying instantly of a heart attack. A sad day for mankind.

Finishing of the game with an 80-yard sprint, wasSamsung. Dethroning all who came before with the lead singer ofThe Darknesssinging"Believe In A Thing Called Love."