Advertisers who paid $5 million for 30 seconds had to walk the line with ads that appealed to everyone and didn't offend. Some were more successful than others.
Other advertisers took the safest route possible by re-airing ads they've used before — an unusual, though not unprecedented,Adam Oates Jersey, move. Coca-Cola, Google and Fiji water all aired rerun ads.
Some thought the ad was a hit. "Kudos to them for making a strong statement," said O'Keefe. But others, such as Villanova University marketing professor Charles Taylor, thought it didn't have a clear enough link to the brand and risked coming off as a "purely political statement."
A debut Super Bowl spot by the "It's a 10" hair care brand introduced its line of men's products by joking about Donald Trump's hair.
Even a hair care brand dipped into politics:  The "It's a 10" hair brand indirectly referenced President Donald Trump's famously unruly do in its Super Bowl spot.
It's tough to be a Super Bowl advertiser, period. But this year, a divisive political climate has roiled the nation since Trump took office in January, making it even tougher for advertisers.
Budweiser drew some criticism for the immigration theme of its ad, including calls on Twitter to boycott the brewer. That fostered debate — and banter — online, particularly over one hashtag that misspelled the company's name, #boycottbudwiser.
Airbnb's ad was one of the more overtly political, showing a variety of different faces with the tagline "We accept."
"Brands used to worry about whether their ad could be interpreted as right or wrong,Steelers Jersey Cheap," said Kelly O'Keefe, a marketing professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. "Now they have to worry about whether it will be interpreted as right or left."
Plenty of ads walked that line.
NEW YORK (AP) — Messages about America, inclusiveness — and, yes, even "four years of awful hair" — kept bubbling up in Super Bowl 51 ads from Airbnb, the NFL and a line of personal care products. But there was still plenty of escapism and light humor for those who weren't into the politics.
As the New England Patriots edged out the Atlantic Falcons on the field in Houston, Airbnb touted inclusiveness with an ad showing faces of different ethnicities and the copy: "We all belong. The world is more beautiful the more you accept."
WALKING THE POLITICAL LINE
"The Super Bowl is shaping up as a counterpoint to the divisiveness in the United States," said Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at Northwestern University.
Several ads aimed for just that. Tide, for instance, offered a humorous ad showing announcer Terry Bradshaw trying frantically to remedy a stain while his antics go "viral" online, with the help of New England Patriot Rob Gronkowski and actor Jeffrey Tambor.
T-Mobile's spots — which featured Justin Bieber and Rob Gronkowski dancing , Kristen Schaal in a "50 Shades of Grey" parody and Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg mixing talk about T-Mobile's unlimited data plan with innuendo about Snoop's marijuana habit,Wholesale Nike Baseball Jerseys, won raves from some —  as did an ad from antioxidant drink maker Bai featuring Justin Timberlake and Christopher Walken.
SURPRISES
"It was a really good message and it was entertaining," said Mirta Desir, a New Orleans native who works in education and was watching the game on Long Island.
"It went by so fast, I almost missed it," DiMassimo said. "Not sure it was worth the trouble of doing it live."
"America, we're in for four years of awful hair, so it's up to you to do your part by making up for it with great hair," went a voiceover state as black-and-white photos of people with a wide array of hairstyles flashed by. "Do your part. ... Let's make sure these next four years are 'It's a 10.'"
An NFL spot conveyed what all advertisers hope the Super Bowl becomes: a place where Americans can come together. "Inside these lines, we may have our differences, but recognize there's more that unites us," Forest Whitaker intoned in a voiceover as workers prepped a football field and gridiron scenes played.
LIGHT HUMOR PLUS CELEBS

"Anxiety and politics just loom over this game, so anybody who gives us the blessed relief of entertaining with a real Super Bowl commercial wins," said Mark DiMassimo, CEO of the ad agency DiMassimo Goldstein.
Coca-Cola aired a previously run ad during the pregame show in which people sing "America the Beautiful" in different languages. And Budweiser ran a 60-second spot chronicling co-founder Adolphus Busch's migration from Germany to St. Louis in 1857,<a href="htt