Super Bowl ads: The funny, the sexy, the downright bizarre

The Super Bowl is just one of the highlights of the sporting calendar - but for American advertisers, it is the undisputed biggest moment of the year.

Some of the biggest companies in the world spend millions creating the perfect advert, knowing that making a splash guarantees them huge kudos, goodwill and incessant replays around the world.

Such is the importance that the NFL recently secured a broadcasting deal worth an incredible $6 billion for TV rights for the season, with the Super Bowl alone worth an estimated $250 million.

Each 30-second slot costs around $3.5m, with some prime moments during the game fetching $4m. Even at those prices, even in the worst financial downturn since the 1930s, host broadcaster NBC sold out in November.

Some are funny, some sexy and others downright bizarre. We've collected the best of them together, and in those very categories, so you can see what the fuss is about:

THE FUNNY

Funny adverts always do well, with this Chevy convertible advert giving the biggest belly laughs:

On the same basis, Honda's luxury arm Acura splashed out on comedy legend Jerry Seinfeld, as well as a raft of clever gimmicks and special effects:

It's the end of the world as we know it, but not if you drive a Chevy Silverado:

And finally, a mini-remake of Ferris Bueller's Day off in the Honda CRV ad, which is probably our favourite of the lot:

THE SEXY

H&M decided to show off David Beckham for their advert. Pretty much all of him, in fact:

It wasn't just the girls who enjoyed a bit of eye candy. Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima turned up in two adverts, the best of which was for Teleflora...:

...while the Fiat 500 advert was as baffling as it was un-turn-offable:

Internet domain hosts GoDaddy also went for the baser feelings of the audience, but frankly we found this more scary than anything else:

AND THE BIZARRE:

Vampires and cars - what could go wrong with that for Audi? Here's what:

We've seen this TaxAct one about a little boy needing the toilet four times now, but are still not quite sure what to think:

Elton John as the King, with an American reality show contestant singing a bit of Aretha Franklin. No doubt you're already hankering after a tin of Pepsi:

And finally Clint Eastwood and the Chrysler group won instant acclaim for this inspirational plea for the future of the American nation. We're not sure what the millionaire octogenarian actor knows about urban deprivation in the post-industrial world, but most of the American papers agreed that this was the best of the bunch:

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