Yes, the 2012 Super Bowl was a real nail-biter. But we know why you were really watching...for the commercials! 

2012's crop of Super Bowl commercials really ran the gamut this year. We had cute (the adorable fan-created Doritos ad), sexy (Teleflora's Valentine's Day reminder from Adriana Lima), funny (TaxAct's 'Free to Pee') and even controversial (Chevy's Mayan apocalypse commercial).

Nostalgia was also a selling point for many advertisers. Whether it was the return of Ferris Bueller in Honda's 2012 Super Bowl spot, or the greatest collection of cartoon characters ever in MetLife's 'Everyone' commercial, advertisers tugged on our love for past pop culture favorites.

Of course, it wouldn't be the Super Bowl without celebs. From Clint Eastwood's moving 'Halftime in America' monologue to Adriana Lima stripping down for the nation, famous faces were all over the tube on Sunday night.

In the end, humor and creativity ruled when it came to our favorite ads. Lucky for you, we're counting down the 10 best commercials from Super Bowl 2012. Take a look below.


Budweiser's rousing Super Bowl 2012 commercial works the nostalgia factor in a couple of ways -- it's a throwback to Prohibition times and a reintroduction of their iconic Clydesdale horses. Now all they need to do is bring back the 'Bud Bowl.' Bud Light is due for a win!

Like a mini-'28 Days Later,' this post-apocalyptic 2012 Super Bowl commercial follows one man's journey through a barren wasteland. It was so intense, NBC almost pulled it from the Super Bowl.

Last year, Eminem starred in a starkly dramatic Super Bowl ad for Chrysler. For the automotive company's Super Bowl 2012 commercial, Clint Eastwood was called upon to deliver a stirring monologue about how Detroit's turnaround can be applied to our nation's economic downturn. Well, at least we think it was Clint. From the sound of that gruff voice, it might've been Christian Bale as Batman.

MetLife's 2012 Super Bowl commercial is easily one of the best. Combining classic cartoon characters like He-Man and Voltron with MetLife regulars the 'Peanuts' gang is enough to get us to buy whatever they are selling. (What are they selling again? Insurance or something?)


This 2012 commercial from TaxAct compares the freedom of preparing your own tax returns with a naughty kid relieving himself in the pool. An accurate comparison? Not so much. Funny? You bet.

This year's spate of Doritos ads were all part of a contest where fans submitted ideas for the chance to work with The Lonely Island and score a cool $1 million bucks. And one of the finalists was Kevin T. Wilson's so-wrong-it's-awesome slingshot baby.

Broderick's much-hyped return to his most famous character is fun, if a little underwhelming. Sure, there are fun Easter eggs for fans (Rooney's secretary, the parade, to name just a few). But would it have killed Honda to include Cameron or Sloane in their 2012 Super Bowl commercial?

Yes, it's a shameless ploy to get the attention of the males at home watching. But it's safe to say they'll remember Valentine's Day this year.

Volkswagen continues to prove that 'Star Wars' plus cute equals Super Bowl commercial win with this spot featuring cute poochs barking the 'Imperial Theme' from the popular sci-fi movie franchise. It's definitely hard to top dog Chewbacca.

Doritos' hilarious ad (which won its creator Jonathan Friedman a cool million bucks) is proof that you don't need celebrities or inflated budgets to make a killer ad that everyone will be talking about the next day. You just need a mischievous dog with perfect comedic timing.

What was your favorite 2012 Super Bowl commercial?

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