Water Cooler Conversation: What Was Your Favorite Super Bowl Commercial?

Now that the is headed back to Green Bay, the focus will shift to the always popular Super Bowl commercials. So popular in fact, YouTube is running a campaign this year called "Ad Blitz 2011" that lets fans watch all the commercials from the big game and vote for their favorites.

According to Kantar Media, this year's ads cost roughly $3 million for a 30-second spot, which netted Fox roughly $200 million in ad revenue. All of these commercials add up to significant amount of time. 

Last year's CBS telecast of the Super Bowl aired a record 47 minutes, 50 seconds of network ads when you include sponsors, messages from the NFL, and commercials aired by CBS to promote their own shows.

According to USA Today's "Ad Meter" the top commercial for Super Bowl XLV was a tie between two commercials—one for Doritos, one for Bud Light—both featuring dogs.

Here is a quick look at some of the other highlights from last night's commercials.

Volkswagen Turns to the Dark Side

A mini Darth Vader tries to use “the force” throughout the house until Dad offers a helping hand. The commercial was posted on YouTube well before the Super Bowl on Feb. 2, and has already amassed over 14 million views, many of which came before Super Bowl Sunday. It also came in third in the USA Today polls.

Doritos Save Grandpa

In a suspenseful yet hysterical skit, Doritos made it seem there may be some healing powers in their lunchtime snack. This ad came in just behind the Darth Vader commercial.

Surprise Hysterics from Homeaway.com

A crash-test baby hitting the wall never seemed so funny. This seemingly unknown company might see a decent return on their investment with this one. Although, their offering in the Bowie area for vacation rentals is lacking...

Eminem Does a Double take

The rapper from Detroit made two different appearances in Super Bowl ads last night, in a quite uncharacteristic fashion. One for Brisk iced tea, and the other for Chrysler.  

Groupon Controversy

Most of the commercials last night were comical or predominantly light-hearted, but Groupon stirred up some controversy with this ad, minimizing political problems in Tibet for the sake of marketing. It's part of a series of ads the company is running with the likes of Elizabeth Hurley and Cuba Gooding Jr., and it's yet to be seen whether their attempt at viral marketing will help or hurt their bottom line.

TV Montage of NFL Clips - "Best. Fans. Ever."

This montage of NFL and Super Bowl related clips from TV shows from a variety of genres and time periods was also a hit, and gave the league a chance to thank its fans.

Jonathan Moynihan contributed to this article.