Companies paid an average of $3.5 million for a 30-second spot for the right to duke it out Sunday in front of the expected 111 million-plus fans. The commercials were ordinary with few surprises. That's mostly because nearly half of the 70 Super Bowl advertisers put their spots out online in the days leading up to the game. "Advertisers this year are playing it very safe," said Tim Calkins, a professor of marketing at Northwestern University. "They're running spots that are clearly designed to appeal to a broad audience and not to offend."