Why watch the Superbowl? For the ads, of course. Classical music–opera, no less–was featured in at least one. This, by the way, was an “amateur” ad entered in a contest last year and held over for broadcast this year:
Doritos Super Bowl Commercial: Giant Mouse Trap
The music in this unsettling Audi ad (which parodies the horse head scene from The Godfather) also employs an orchestra as we know it. The first few seconds hint at a trumpet theme from the finale to Mahler’s Symphony No. 9. Then Mahler collides with Jaws and other cinematic terrors:

In other Superbowl music news, there’s no doubt in my mind the national anthem was lip synched by American Idol winner Jordin Sparks. Seems a shame:

At least Tom Petty sang live. I’ll take flat over fake any day.