Usually the Super Bowl is a lackluster game, or a blowout—or both. The major national TV ads are usually a mixture of spectacular creative messages and equally spectacular duds. But last night’s Super Bowl was very different. The battle between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots was epic—a true roller coaster ride.

But the Super Bowl 2015 ads? There was certainly a more thoughtful attempt at creativity and messaging. From important child safety directives from Nationwide to the traditional heartfelt Budweiser commercial featuring the dog and the horses to the attention-getting “lost signal” Chevrolet truck ad, the goal was to tug on heartstrings.

Then, there was a surprisingly well-crafted and thoughtful entry from Carnival Cruise Lines. Does anyone remember the old Carnival TV ads from a few decades back with Kathie Lee Gifford singing? Ugh.

In more recent years, Carnival promoted its line by calling itself “the fun ship.” But last night, it did something special—a beautifully shot and written 60-second message. It wasn’t selling its ships, and it wasn’t selling the fun. In fact, it wasn’t selling anything at all.

It was a tribute to the history, the dreams of the oceans of the world, and our connectivity to the sea. The narrator, John F. Kennedy, and his words, were tied to some incredible cinematic images of vast expanses of water. “We are tied to the ocean,” Kennedy says, “and when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch it…we are going back from whence we came.”

The words came from Kennedy’s speech launching the 1962 America’s Cup. But they rang just as true last night as they did more than 52 years ago. The “Come Back to the Sea” piece was stunning in both its simplicity and its elegance, and it definitely scored a touchdown.

By Peter Greenberg for PeterGreenberg.com