Just as a team has to (and can only) play against whomever is scheduled, so do the ads compete against whomever else decides to pony up.

Tonight, the car commercials all hurt each other. Too many and most of them similar in touting excitement. Interestingly, the less expensive cars promised the most. Against this field, the Chrysler halftime spot (with Clint Eastwood now leading in the Republican polls) stood out. May not sell a lot of cars, but certainly built a great feeling.

A lot of movie ads, too, but all they need to do is create awareness and stimulate interest, and several certainly looked good on the screen.

There were a few other scores - Oiko yoghurt, Samsung, GE, and the Bud history/great times all had merit.

There were several complicated plots that were too cute -Seinfeld/Leno (Acura, I guess), Toyota's reinvention and Bridgestone's sports analogy come to mind.

Game was solid but not great; ads were not quite that good.