"Can't wait to watch the Super Bowl tomorrow. Be sure to watch the ads in the 3rd quarter (someone said 'Hell has indeed frozen over')," Google CEO Eric Schmidt said on his Twitter on Saturday.

As subtly promised, the Google ad aired during the third quarter of Super Bowl XLIV. The clip, entitled "Parisian Love," and nearly a minute in length, played up the Valentine’s Day appeal and featured a romance between an American who falls in love with a Parisian girl while studying abroad.

The screen is focused on a Google search bar where the love story is spelled out through a series of queries ranging from “study abroad parisfrance,” to "how to impress a french girl," and "long-distance relationship advice." The clip ends on one final search: "how to assemble a crib." Very precious, Google.

Many had expected the commercial to feature the company’s new smartphone 'Nexus One' and were surprised to see the “Parisian Love” clip, which had been on YouTube for about three months. For what it cost Google – probably around $5 million for a one-minute time slot – many have said the ad was far too simple and a waste of money.

Still, it seems the commercial grabbed the hearts of many viewers, ranking high in polls as a Super Bowl favorite. The heart-warming nature may have come at the relief of some people watching the game, since most of the commercials were dominated by failed attempts to make awkward moments about men “being men” funny, instead winding up seeming sexist and confusing.

Perhaps it’s because the minds behind those other commercials were trying so hard to please the men watching the game, while Google’s ad was directed to all Americans. Schmidt wrote in his blog that the company didn’t set out to create a Super Bowl ad, instead to publish a series of videos about its products.

“But we liked this video so much, and it's had such a positive reaction on YouTube, that we decided to share it with a wider audience," he said. The YouTube clip has over 1 million viewers to date.

Super Bowl ads have always been reserved for the commercial elite. Afterall, they air to roughly 90 million viewers during a time slot that costs millions of dollars to secure. But despite such simple math, Google had always turned away from traditional commercial methods, instead relying on Internet ads and a grass-roots appeal. So why, all of a sudden, did the company give in to spending millions of dollars on a TV ad?