Super sales from Super Bowl

AP: Volkswagen's Superbowl ad last year had everything to grab your attention: a cute, little boy, a retro theme, a funny plot.

The German automaker charmed millions of viewers with a Star Wars-themed ad for its redesigned 2012 Passat sedan.

Volkswagen took a gamble by releasing the spot before the game - something most advertisers didn't do last year. But the move paid off: the ad quickly became a viral hit on video-sharing website YouTube, with 49.4 million views since. And it came in No. 3 on USA Today's Ad Meter, which ranks Super Bowl commercials. The ad also helped tout the new sedan. The Passat went on sale in the summer and has been a popular seller for Volkswagen in the United States. In December, for example, volume sales of the sedan more than doubled to nearly 23,000 for the year.

Volkswagen is revisiting its Star Wars motif during today's game, only this time with an ad for its Volkswagen Beetle. The carmaker has released a "teaser spot" for its commercial that shows dogs dressed as Star Wars characters barking The Imperial March. It has already gotten 10 million views on YouTube.

Then, last Wednesday, the company released online a 75-second version of the 60-second Super Bowl ad that shows a dog losing weight so he can chase after a Beetle. Then it cuts away to show aliens in the Cantina from Star Wars discussing the ads.

While many Super Bowl ads use humour, kids or animals to tug at the heartstrings, Chrysler took an altogether different approach with its cinematic 'Imported from Detroit' spot to roll out its 200 sedan.

Set to a pulsating beat from Eminem's Lose Yourself song, the ad shows gritty footage of the hip-hop star driving the 200 through the streets of Detroit, past city landmarks, historic homes and of course, people. The ad ended with Eminem on stage in front of a humming choir with the message: "This is the Motor City, and this is what we do."