This year's Super Bowl commercials went for easy laughs and nostalgia, largely steering clear of controversy and leaving the surprises on the football field, where the Philadelphia Eagles dominated the Kansas City Chiefs.

Eugene Levy's eyebrows flew off and buzzed around after he ate some Little Caesars. Four old ladies went on a joy ride in a commercial for WeatherTech, while sloths had a case of the Mondays in an ad for Coors Light. And British singer Seal became an actual seal, sad that he couldn't hold Mountain Dew with his flippers.

Actor Glenn Powell did a take on Goldilocks for Ram Trucks, while comedian Nate Bargatze cloned himself and hired an opera singer because he saved so much money using DoorDash. Shaboozey took a lighthearted stroll through New Orleans for Nerds, while the stars of the "Fast and Furious" franchise took a slow cruise in a convertible so they could enjoy Häagen-Dazs ice cream bars.

Tim Calkins, a professor of marketing at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, said this was a complicated Super Bowl for advertisers.

Most ads were in development during last fall's U.S. presidential election race, so avoiding controversy was even more of a priority than usual, Calkins said. The finalized crop of commercials feature a lot of simple humor, nostalgia and few creative risks, he said. But even that approach can backfire.

"That's the challenge this year. Everybody wants to be safe, but you also want to be interesting," Calkins said. "Safe advertising isn't the advertising you notice or remember."

And advertisers can't afford not to be noticed. Some of the roughly 80 Super Bowl ads spots cost a record $8 million for 30 seconds this year.

Here are some of the themes of this... Read More