The most expensive Super Bowl commercials of all time

It’s the biggest game of the year where heavyweights go head to head, flexing their muscles and fighting for world-wide recognition. We’re not talking about football, we’re talking about ad sales. The Super Bowl is when companies really flaunt their wealth. And some companies have peacocked big time. Here, we highlight the five biggest spenders.

5. Microsoft, $8 million, 60 seconds

Microsoft’s 1-minute commercial during last year’s Super Bowl really tugged at the heartstrings. If you don’t think it’s possible to get emotional in less than a minute, this commercial will change your mind. It’s basically a montage of some of the positive effects of technology: allowing a deployed soldier to virtually watch the birth of his newborn, giving a deaf teen the gift of hearing…We say, money well spent.

4. Kia, $8 million, 60 seconds

Kia brought viewers back last year with its “Matrix”-inspired commercial for its luxury model, K900. They even got Laurence Fishburne to get back into character as Morpheus. What better way to advertise its luxury car than by spending $133,333 a second?

3. Jaguar, $8 million, 60 seconds

Not to be outdone, Jaguar shot a mini-movie starring Sir Ben Kingsley, “Thor” star Tom Hiddleston and Mark Strong to tout its 5F Coupe. Tom Hooper directed the short, which explains to American viewers why British villains are the best, using a helicopter and of course the new luxury car.

2. Bud Light, $12 million, 90 seconds

It wouldn’t be the Super Bowl without a Bud Light commercial, right? For last year’s big budget promo, Bud Light turned an average guy into a star, with the help of adding in Arnold Schwarzenegger, Minka Kelly, Reggie Watts, Don Cheadle and One Republic. The “average Joe” — who isn’t an actor and didn’t know he was being filmed for a Super Bowl commercial — was given a beer and asked by a woman, “If I give you this, are you up for whatever happens next?” A wild night ensues.

1.Chrysler, $12.4 million, 2 minutes

2014 might have scored the fifth through second most expensive Super Bowl ads, but the priciest one of all time isChrysler’s 2011 spot. In an effort to counteract the negative press Detroit was getting at the time, the commercial highlighted the city’s strength, as seen by Eminem as he drives through the city. The commercial paid off:Chrysler’s business has improved by more than 50 percent since the ad aired.