Search played a big role in Sunday's expensive TV spots, with more marketers than ever before buying paid search ads. But only a handful of campaigns actually realized the full potential of search, according to Reprise Media, which found that 93 percent of advertisers failed to do the basics like buying alternative terms.

According to Reprise, only 6 percent of ads directed viewers to take a specific online action. But 70 percent of Super Bowl advertisers did augment their expensive TV spots with search buys on Google, Yahoo and MSN. That was a 20 percent jump over last year's numbers.

But despite the rise in search marketing, only a few brands managed to use the web to capture and continue the buzz created by their ads. Cars.com, CareerBuilder, GoDaddy and Pepsi scored "Touchdown" ratings on Reprise's Super Bowl scorecard. However, more brands earned negative ratings, with 20 being classified as “Loss of Yards,” and 12 earning a "Fumble" rating.