What are over 100 million viewers expecting from 5:35 to somewhere around 9:00 on the first Sunday night in February? An emotionally impactful story. And were not talking about the game itself – that’s a given. We’re talking about the commercials.

Marketing is in a dramatic revolution, or more accurately, drama is revolutionizing marketing. Storytelling has become a central part of marketing content strategy, and for good reason. Content delivered in a story has a 70 percent retention rate as compared to statistics alone which comes in at a meager 10 percent retention. That is a powerful motivation for businesses to launch and maintain a storytelling strategy for their marketing. Storytelling is also the basis for nearly every ad we see on Super Bowl Sunday.

The Super Bowl itself is a marketer’s dream. With most of us on the proverbial sidelines watching our colleagues at the top of the profession presenting their brands and products on the biggest stage, with an audience size that is almost unimaginable. This year a 30 second ad will cost $5.25 million – and that is just the cost of air time. Paying for the endorsers, production, pre and post-game promotion can match the cost of the ad placement itself! The immediate impact on every one of those 100 million plus viewers? Making bathroom breaks almost impossible.

The most successful commercials of the night are a showcase for the power of storytelling in marketing. The impact of these stories are multiplied when the content is tied to or integrated with social media or a lead generation program that many of the advertisers will employ.

Social issues are at the heart of some of the best stories - embracing topics of female empowerment, inclusiveness and even renewable energy. The brands that employed this strategy are set to be the big winners with consumers that want the brands they buy to mirror what they care about. Here is a look at those marketing champions from the Super Bowl lineup of ads --

Best Product Positioning:

Colgate Total scored big time with Luke Wilson as the close talker. On their next visit to the grocery store, a potential 110 million consumers will be thinking about how Colgate Total is going to ensure they won’t have to worry about the possibility of bad breath in the workplace. They put their product front and center with Wilson at the onset, knowing that consumers will clearly remember Luke Wilson as the close talker, but once they arrive at the store and see shelves full of product it might take some doing to remember which toothpaste the close talker used. Retention at point of purchase may have been increased with a script addition like, “I’m a total close talker”, but let’s not quibble about a pretty great ad.

Best Social Topic Positioning:

More insightful advertisers are aligning their brands with social issues that we all care about, not only for awareness of these significant topics but also for brand positioning to a consumer that has more buying choices than ever and want their brand choices to represent their ideals.

The Bumble app grabs the top slot for aligning brand with social issues using endorser Serena Williams. Female empowerment was the theme in a couple ads, but Serena’s declaration at the end of the spot is a great piece of writing that sets this one above the earlier Toyota ad. “Don’t wait to be given power, because here’s what they won’t tell you. You already have it.”

It was surprising that Gillette did not air a version of its pure storytelling commercial that contains no call to action and little self-promotion. Especially given that they are so closely aligned with the New England Patriots already, this would have been a perfect placement. The spot centers on standing firm to stop bullying, with the only hint of a typical Gillette commercial coming less than ten seconds into the ad. It’s a powerful moment when a child runs through the screen of a familiar Gillette ad. A symbolic element that says to the audience– we are willing to break through our own brand to send you a message. Although it did not air during the game, it’s such a great piece of brand storytelling that it needs to be seen again.

Best Emotional Storytelling:

This is an easy pick. Microsoft had already shown us this product when we were introduced to Owen in a previous ad. This time we meet a whole group of kids who, like Owen and every other kid in America, love to play video games – and again, video games. The product is only mentioned once, but it’s not about the product, it’s the result the product brings to these awesome kids that makes this an honest to goodness tearjerker.

Best Product Perception Correction:

Stella Artois made an instant classic using classic characters that we know and love doing something completely out of character. Perception Correction is used by established brands for breathing new life into a product, and Stella did this to perfection. Using the female character of Carrie Bradshaw and the male character of the “Dude” tapped into demographics for both genders and resonated with audience segments across classes. Granted this will appeal to mostly older audiences, but it’s doubtful Stella would gain a foothold in the millennial micro-brew centric crowd anyway.

Best Overall Story for a Brand:

Hyundai crafted the top story for the night and combined it with some Perception Correction for good measure. The star of the Hyundai show is Jason Bateman doing what he does best, mixing dry wit and laugh out loud humor that works on every level (kind of a pun intended there since he’s an elevator operator). Every viewer over the age of sixteen has experienced the pain and anguish of car shopping and we all know it does rival every other excruciating moment perfectly delivered by Bateman – except the last guy…perhaps.

A notable mention goes to CBS for crafting some great spots for their All Access service and for Steven Colbert’s show. The usual suspects were in the lineup as expected. Doritos, Pepsi and Budweiser, all with the now standard star powered cameos, made some funny albeit not so memorable ads that have become the staple sitcom commercials most viewers have come to expect. Altogether a solid lineup of commercials that didn’t disappoint the fans who couldn’t care less about the game but love the entertainment that comes from the bevy of 30 second stories.