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Monday minutiae: Reaction to the big play, the ads and a shark

This article was published more than 9 years ago. Some information may no longer be current.

The big play

There’s no easier job today than being a Monday morning quarterback. The Seattle Seahawks' decision to throw instead of run had pundits and some well-respected former players calling out Pete Carroll and not mincing words.

The Super Bowl MVP

We all know who the real Super Bowl MVP was. Based on the headlines and memes Monday morning, it’s the Left Shark. The Katy Perry sequence during the halftime show for Teenage Dream featured a pair of backup dancers dressed as sharks, one of which had a difficult time staying in sync.

The brawl

The second-last play of the game, which saw Tom Brady intentionally down the ball, resulted in a short brawl and a player ejection. But that wasn’t the only nastiness during the game. Another brawl captured attention as CEOs from T-Mobile and Sprint lambasted each other on Twitter.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere started the brawl by criticizing a Sprint commercial:

Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure hit back, and retweeted a few comments that focused on T-Mobile pitchwoman Kim Kardashian.

And Legere tried the high road, but by then it was too late for either of them.

Which ads captured the attention?

Two sponsors not normally associated with the Super Bowl got the attention of critics and consumers. Nationwide had a hit and a miss with its Super Bowl ad. The hit was the"Invisible Mindy" spot starring Mindy Kaling and including a cameo by Matt Damon. The miss was a commercial titled "Make Safe Happen" in which a young boy lists all the milestones he never reached due to his premature death.

Nationwide chief marketing officer Matt Jauchius knew that having a dead child talk to viewers from beyond the grave would be divisive and the insurance company issued a statement to explain its decision after a negative outcry on social media:

"Nationwide ran an ad during the Super Bowl that started a fierce conversation. The sole purpose of this message was to start a conversation, not sell insurance. We want to build awareness of an issue that is near and dear to all of us - the safety and well being of our children."

The ad had been viewed online more than 1.4 million times.

At the opposite end of the spectrum was Always's "Like a Girl." The PSA calls on young women to embrace acting like themselves and includes no mention of the feminine-hygiene brand.

Among the other advertisers who got traction for paying $4.5-million for their 30 seconds of airtime were Budweiser (Lost Dog), Snickers (The Brady Bunch), Clash of Clans: Revenge (starring Liam Neeson), Loctite Glue (Positive Feelings) - perhaps the most interesting advertiser in the bunch - and Doritos (Middle Seat), which earned its creator a $1-million prize in the company's Super Bowl commercial contest.

GIF of the game

And the best GIF of the morning, featuring Jermaine Kearse’s amazing catch that almost won it for Seattle.