Super Bowl's powerhouse ads

While the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens battled on the field during Super Bowl XLVII, marketers from Best Buy to M&M to Toyota were competing against each other on advertising's biggest stage. And were pulling out the most persuasive tools of their trade. The stakes were high, with 30-second spots going for as much as $4 million and more than 111 million viewers expected to tune in.

Here are some ad highlights through the third quarter:

Babies and families

Hyundai's "Epic Playdate" spot, right before kickoff, showed a family partying with the band The Flaming Lips: wreaking havoc at a natural history museum, getting chased by bikers, going to a petting zoo and playing in a park. "Make every day epic with the new seven-passenger Santa Fe," a voiceover states. When the family gets back home and the daughter asks, "What are we going to do now?" The father replies, "Well, I think there's a game on," and the broadcast went straight to the kickoff.

Audi's 60-second ad in the first quarter, with an ending voted on by viewers, shows a boy gaining confidence from driving his father's Audi to the prom, kissing the prom queen and getting decked by the prom king.

Humor is key

Best Buy's 30-second ad in the first quarter starred Amy Poehler, of NBC's Parks and Recreation, asking a Best Buy employee endless questions about electronics. "Will this one read 50 Shades of Grey to me in a sexy voice," Poehler asks about an e-book reader. When the staffer says no she asks, "Will you?"

M&M's showed its red spokescharacter singing Meatloaf's "I Would Do Anything For Love," and wooing beautiful women, but stopping short when they try to eat him.

Oreo's ad featured a showdown in a library between people fighting over whether the cookie or the cream is the best part of the cookie. The joke - the fight escalates into thrown chairs and other destruction, but because the fight is in a library, everyone still has to whisper.

Doritos went for humor with its two user-created spots. Winners of the "Crash the Super Bowl" contest included one about a Doritos-crazy goat.

Another showed a father playing princess with his daughter to get Doritos. His buddies catch him, but instead of making fun of him they join in. "Is that my wedding dress?" says his wife when she sees them playing.

Budweiser showed rival 49ers and Ravens fans each creating a voodoo doll for the other team with the help of a mysterious figure in a bar. "It's only weird if it doesn't work," reads the copy.

Taco Bell showed a group of seniors partying, getting tattoos, and eating its Doritos Locos Tacos

Celebrities abound

R&B legend Stevie Wonder and actress Zoe Saldana make a rare appearance in a Voodoo ad for Bud Light

Chrysler made a splash with a two-minute spot during halftime showing families waiting for their family members to return home from serving with the armed forces abroad. Media mogul and TV personality Oprah Winfrey read a letter from the Jeep brand to encourage families to stay hopeful.

Sex still sells

Calvin Klein upped the sex appeal with a 30-second spot showing male model Matthew Terry strutting around in underwear.