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Feb. 6 (UPI) -- The New England Patriots' historic comeback victory Sunday in Super Bowl LI wasn't the only thing that got people talking. Because so many Americans tune into the NFL championship game for the advertisements, several companies decided to use this year's opportunity to speak to viewers in a more serious tone.
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Instead of the comic and flashy TV spots that have come to be synonymous with the Super Bowl, the 51st edition served as a showcase for what may have been the greatest number of politically motivated ads in the game's history.
Anheuser-Busch presented a commercial that featured the immigrant story of founder Adolphus Busch -- who co-founded the brewer with his father in-law, Eberhard Anheuser, in 1852.
The ad portrayed a treacherous journey to the United States for Busch and repeated stigmatization once he arrived. It ends with the words, "When nothing stops your dream, this is the beer we'll raise."
After the commercial aired, the beer-maker became the target of criticism from some on the Internet -- with some even calling for a boycott.
"It's time to #BoycottBudweiser. We don't need your beer, your opinions, and your illegal immigrants," one person wrote on Twitter.
Budweiser, though, has said the advertisement was not a statement on the current U.S. political climate.
"We created the Budweiser commercial to highlight the ambition of our founder, Adolphus Busch, and his unrelenting pursuit of the American dream," the company said last week. "It's an idea we've been developing along with our creative agency for nearly a year."
German automaker Audi chose the Super Bowl to make a statement about two hot button issues -- women's rights and the wage gap.
Its ad features a young girl participating in a soapbox derby race, and a voice belonging to the character's father narrates.
"What do I tell my daughter?" he asks. "Do I tell her her grandpa is worth more than her grandma? That her dad is worth more than her mom?"
"Maybe I'll be able to tell her something different," he says at the end of the commercial, which features the girl as the triumphant race winner.
Google touched on equality with its ad for its Home digital assistant by featuring a diverse cross section of the American population and a tagline at the end that says, "welcome home." Travel company Airbnb produced a similarly themed commercial featuring people of various ethnicity with the tagline, "we accept."
Perhaps the most overt political ad of the night, though, belonged to 84 Lumber -- a family-owned wood business running its first Super Bowl commercial.
The ad, called "The Journey Begins," features mother and daughter immigrants seemingly on their way to the United States. The commercial ends with them holding hands and directs viewers to go online to see the conclusion.
That ad, though, apparently wasn't what 84 Lumber had wanted to run.
The full version ends with the mother and daughter at a large border wall, similar to one Trump has promised to build. It was reportedly rejected by the Fox network, Super Bowl LI's broadcaster.
"I still can't even understand why it was censored," 84 Lumber owner Maggie Hardy Magerko said, according to the New York Times. "It's not pornographic, it's not immoral, it's not racist."
"The commercial ... does not have the ending we originally wanted, but the message has not changed," Rob Schapiro, whose agency developed the ad for 84 Lumber, said. "Our message is that America is the land of opportunity and 84 Lumber is the company of opportunity."
Like some of the other ads that aired Sunday, 84 Lumber has taken some criticism for the commercial. Its website received so much traffic from the ad that it crashed.
"Never buy lumber from you again. Maybe you need to sell in Mexico. Check your stock on the market," one person tweeted.
"Please stop. You're embarrassing yourself and insulting our intelligence. Your ad was about illegals," another read.
Of course, the ad was also met with widespread praise.
"Thank you for that powerful ad! I stand with you and will refer your products! I apologize on behalf of all the haters!" one person reacted.
Some of the commercials, in fact, were even more political than the halftime show featuring Lady Gaga. Many expected the eccentric singer to make political statements during her performance, but she didn't. Her song selections, however, may have taken care of that.
She sung a portion of the folk song "This Land is Your Land" as well as "God Bless America" and her 2011 track "Born This Way," a gay-rights anthem.
