Super Bowl Commercials 2015: List of Best Ads and Video Highlights

The Super Bowl commercials are often a bigger subplot than the game itself. That also makes sense when NBC Sports asked advertisers to pay as much as $4.5 million for a 30-second spot, according to UK Business Insider writer Lara O' Reilly.

This year's big game featured a macabre riff on The Brady Bunch, a Rex Ryan-Tony Romo showdown over a pizza, as well as MVP Tom Brady's acting career.

Here are some of the best commercials that stuck in the mind even after the New England Patriots dramatically beat the Seattle Seahawks 28-24.

Marcia Brady Channels her Inner Danny Trejo for Snickers

You couldn't get a more mischievous retelling of The Brady Bunch than having Danny Trejo recast as small-town USA sweetheart Marcia Brady. Trejo brought his stock scary stare and rasping, nasty tone to this re-imagining.

But of course, all it took was a bite of Snickers to return Marcia to herself and restore balance to this vision of idealistic Americana. Or so we thought.

The ad was brilliantly capped by Steve Buscemi making a cheeky cameo as Jan Brady.

Rex Ryan Throws the Flag against Pizza Hut, Tony Romo has Playoff Flashback

You just had to love Pizza Hut's impish tip of the cap to a controversial piece of recent NFL playoff history. New Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan was the setup for Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo to be reminded of the non-catch ruling that knocked the Cowboys out of the postseason against the Green Bay Packers.

Ryan threw the challenge flag after every pizza eater who opted for a classic, unflavored crust, even though these things are called classic for a reason. The final object of his wrath was Romo, who upon seeing the flag simply said, "Not again."

Cowboys fans everywhere know the feeling.

Brett Favre, Terrell Owens, Franco Harris and Emmitt Smith go Online

For another poke at some infamous figures and incidents from the league's past, Wix.com's Brett Favre-led ad was a beauty. The former Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings quarterback (don't think I missed anybody) began the ad desperately seeking yet another new team. This was an obvious riff on Favre prolonging his career way past its sell-by date even after so many promises to stop.

Favre was working with his agent, Entourage's Lloyd (Rex Lee), the comical foil and put-upon assistant for potty-mouthed mega-agent Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven).

Lloyd suggesting Favre start a website was the cue for a few choice NFL-related parodies. First up was Terrell Owens' "Humble Pies." The obvious irony being that the culinary dish clearly wasn't part of Owens' diet when he spent 15 seasons as one of the most ego-maniacal wide receivers in NFL history.

Next came Franco Harris, party planner with his aptly named "Immaculate Receptions." This nod to arguably the most controversial play in postseason annals had to make every gridiron fan chuckle. Well, sans those enamoured with the Oakland Raiders.

Tom Brady and Ted

The trailer for Ted 2 just had to feature on this list given the brief appearance of the man who would earn MVP honors after claiming his fourth Super Bowl victory.

Brady reacts understandably violently to John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) and his irreverent titular furry friend's attempts to use him as a surrogate father. Hilarity ensues, all but ensuring Universal's latest release won't be lacking a large audience.

Best of the Rest

Ian Crouch of The New Yorker gave a nod to the Jeff Bridges-led ad for web-builder "Squarespace." Meanwhile, Yahoo Sports writer Jay Busbee loved seeing Bryan Cranston reprise his role as Breaking Bad's criminal chemist Walter White for eSurance.

Overall, the commercials and ads of this year's Super Bowl were commended for their style and approach. Maura Judkis of The Washington Post celebrated the way all tastes were catered for: "And this year’s crop had something for everyone: bro humor, celebrity athlete cameos, nostalgia, sentimentality and plenty of cute animals."

Whatever your personal verdict, the sheer exposure every advertiser earned probably made it all worth it in the end. Even at that price.