Sunday night was Super Bowl XLIX, the biggest event on any sports fans calendar. It is becoming apparent that what’s just as big as the game itself is the commercials played during breaks. With the Super Bowl being one of the biggest televised events of the year, companies take this opportunity to promote their products with more memorable advertising campaigns with high production values and humor that will get the public talking.

The commercials this year turned out to be more of a mixed bag than usual, providing only occasional humor and really emphasizing drama. The one that unexpectedly toyed with everyone’s emotions the most was not Budweiser’s annual animal story, but a chilling Nationwide insurance ad which featured a young boy talking about all the things he couldn’t do in life because his life was taken from him in a preventable accident. While the commercial itself was well done, it did not fit within the context of the Super Bowl.

Many ads poked at fatherhood, compelling those dads to spend more time with their children. McDonald’s kept in this theme of love by promoting their “Pay With Lovin’ Campaign” by telling customers they can get their meal for free by showing love for someone they are with. While this isn’t a dramatic pull, it does play at a different tone compared to the usual playful humor that is expected in these ads.

But does a commercial have to be humorous in order to be effective? Coca-Cola proved that it did not, playing with the love theme by spilling Coke all over the wires of the Internet and popping up all over the world to turn things into love.

What could be considered the winners of the night included many familiar faces in the pop culture community. Liam Neeson showed up in a Clash of Clans commercial which played to the stars action like persona. Bryan Cranston also made his return as his famed “Breaking Bad” character, Walter White, taking place in a pharmaceutical department.

Many of this summer’s biggest films also got some much-deserved promotion. “Jurassic World” wowed viewers with its dinosaur like bite, and “Ted 2” had the help of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to make that film seem even more relevant than it is.

Super Bowl commercials are still full of entertainment value to keep fans (and non-fans) occupied between plays of the game, though an argument can be made for the whole idea of them losing some of their flavor. Like any commercial, all of the big game ads can be viewed on YouTube for those wanting to relive some of the night’s best moments. Though, who are we kidding? The real star was the dancing shark at the halftime show.