In 2011 the auto industry dominated made a huge comeback in Super Bowl ad spending, reaching $77.5 million, up from $32.7 million in 2010, and far surpassing all other industries, according to data from Nielsen.
The entertainment industry ranked second, spending $31.0 million on Super Bowl XLV ads, nearly double the $16.4 million spent in 2010.
Nine auto brands bought ads during Super Bowl commercial breaks in 2011, compared with two to four brands, on average, in previous years.
Creative quality also improved in 2011, with an unprecedented four auto spots making Nielsen's annual Most-Liked list. Moreover, Chevrolet's 2011 wild-ride Camero ad was the most watched spot of all time with an estimated 119.6 million viewers watching its Super Bowl airing.
This year, Chevy is breaking ground again with the Game Time app, which will take advantage of consumers' simultaneous cross-screen behavior and reinforce branding from traditional TV advertisements.
Other carmakers, including Hyundai and Audi have their sights on Super Bowl dominance.
Hyundai plans to debut five 2012 Super Bowl game-day advertisements, while FIAT's seductive contender, which features the FIAT 500 Abarth, already has more 3.1 million views on YouTube.
Super Bowl Ads More Memorable
Ads that aired during 2011's Super Bowl XLV were, on average, 58% more memorable than commercials airing during regular programming in the first quarter of 2011, according to Nielsen.
In addition, brand awareness for commercials airing during the Super Bowl was up to 275% higher than awareness for the same creative during regular programming.
Ten Best Super Bowl Ads of All Time
Despite the popularity of Super Bowl ads overall, only a handful are truly memorable. What makes them so? Forbes.com posed that question to handful of its readers, and to a panel of media and ad industry insiders.
