“It's easy to see where the jokes in a typical Super Bowl ad are going, so high marks to this one,” Time’s James Poniewozik wrote in his review of Super Bowl XLIV ads, “in which three guys use the braking capacity of Bridgestone tires to catapult an orca back to his ocean home, leading to the out-of-nowhere line ….”  -- Well, we’ll let you watch.

"Whale of a Tale" was created by The Richards Group, the agency behind Bridgestone's other spot in the 2010 game, "Your Tires or Your Life." The one ranked among the 10 most popular ads of the Super Bowl that year, according to the annual USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter.

Halftime sponsor Bridgestone would be back in the Super Bowl in 2011 and 2012.

Director: Dante Ariola. Production company: MJZ. Producer Natalie Hill. Director of photography: Toby Irwin. Production designer/art director: Christopher Glass.

Creative director: Glenn Dady. Copywriter: Bill Cochran. Art director: Patrick Murray. Agency producer: J.R. Dixon.

Music: Beacon Street Studios. Sound: Machine Head. VFX: Method Studios. Color: Company 3. Colorist: Stefan Sonnenfeld. Editing: Peep Show. Editor: Andrea MacArthur.

BRAND: Bridgestone

YEAR: 2010

AGENCY: The Richards Group

SUPERBOWL: XLIV

QUARTER AIRED: Q1