Alec Baldwin hyping Hulu

Prevailing over claims that the economy would hit the Super Bowl hard, NBC reported a record $206 million in ad revenue from yesterday's game.

For the full day, NBC's complete network division made $261 million, also a record, according to Reuters.

Last year Super Bowl spots cost $2.7 million per 30 seconds; this year the rate was hiked up to $3 million for :30.

Among the more notable spots, internet companies — and online efforts by more traditional brands — shone brightest, demonstrating growing integration between TV and internet entertainment, as well as a shifting new world order: as perceived value in online services grows, it will be increasingly crucial for successful Super Bowl advertisers of the future to prove their online chops.

Late last year Doritos conducted an online campaign dubbed "Crash the Super Bowl," enabling users to turn in their own Doritos ads in hopes of seeing their air on Super Bowl Sunday. The finalists were narrowed down to five in mid-January, but the winner was not revealed until Super Bowl Sunday. As an additional incentive, the contest winner was also offered $1 million if their ad topped USA Today's annual Ad Meter.

The winning ad was Free Doritos by Joe Herbert of Batesville — and it did, in fact, top the Ad Meter, sweeping two Budweiser ads and a Bridgestone spot with a score of 8.46.

Other representatives of the 'net space included Cars.com, which ranked 7.78 on the Ad Meter. Internet firms CareerBuilder, Monster.com and E*Trade also fared decently, with scores of 7.37, 6.95 and 7.27, respectively.

One of the more interesting additions to this year's ad spread was the first-ever ad debut of streaming content firm Hulu (which is incidentally also hosting all the Super Bowl ads). The company is co-owned by NBC and reportedly did not have to pay for its placement.

Hulu's PR team tried generating buzz prior to Super Bowl Sunday by emailing influential bloggers and telling them Hulu would "reveal the secret" behind its business model in its ad. It made no serious revelations, but the spot, which featured Alec Baldwin, received positive reviews in the blog- and Twitterspheres. (USA Today gave it a score of 6.29.)

This year, profits from Hulu are expected to equal those of first-mover streaming content site YouTube, which is known primarily for hosting amateur material. But unlike Hulu, YouTube also hosts the "video blogs" of a number of public figures, including members of Congress, President Barack Obama, the Queen of England, Queen Rania of Jordan, and — most recently — the Pope.