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None of us expected to see an ad from General Motors during Sunday's Super Bowl broadcast. In fact,听听that it would bypass the costly commercials associated with the big game.

叠耻迟听听communications chief Michael Albano听had听been dropping hints that GM's bowtie brand might have a couple of surprises in store for football fans. He reiterated to听听that ads were off the table, but suggested that there might be other, creative ways of shoehorning a Chevy into the game day festivities.

Today, GM confirmed that Super Bowl organizers had tried to include the听听Corvette Stingray in the Super Bowl XLVII听halftime show. But in a statement released to the media, the company said that ultimately, those efforts didn't pan out.听

What听inquiring听minds want to know is: why? There are a couple of tantalizing clues left behind.听

For starters, there's a series of blog posts from Lauren Craig, who appeared in Sunday's halftime show. Though her official page on MTV.com has been scrubbed to remove any reference to the Corvette,听听shows that she mentioned the car three times:

January 31: "We finally gathered in the dome, where we got to see how the stage was set up and tried to guess who would be popping out of the听red Corvette听we saw at the back of the stage."

January 31: "Suddenly, the Corvette turned into a transformer before our eyes and we realized 叠别测辞苍肠茅 herself was going to be coming out of it."

February 3: "Absolutely nothing that we rehearsed prepared us for the sheer excitement of the live production of that size in front of an entire stadium of fans and millions around the globe. We weren鈥檛 even sure what to expect, as she had axed the red Corvette from the show, but she definitely made the right decisions."

So, if we take Craig at her word, it appears that 叠别测辞苍肠茅 herself removed the Corvette from the show. (She's been blamed for worse things, including the game's听.) But Craig wasn't exactly what we'd call an insider. It's just as likely -- more likely, in fact --听that the show's director 86ed the car. Maybe the Corvette just didn't look right.

It's also interesting to note that the Super Bowl halftime report was sponsored by听.听

Media outlets generally prevent ads from competitors from airing back-to-back, which is why you'll probably never see a听听for Chase and another for Wells-Fargo one after the other. The听听sponsorship and the Corvette product placement were likely far enough apart -- and different enough -- to get around such hurdles, but they might've caused some friction. Could that have let to the Corvette's removal?听

And let's not forget CBS, which had final say in broadcast's content. Could GM's refusal to purchase airtime have worked against听听at the last minute? Probably not, since GM's ad buys throughout the rest of the year more than make up for the game day absence.

Our take

In the end, the world may never know exactly why the Corvette was canned from the halftime show. But there's enough fodder here to keep car fans and conspiracy theorists occupied for weeks.

Photos of 叠别测辞苍肠茅 popping out of the 2014 Corvette听would've been the sort of publicity that money really couldn't buy, but听it's not as if the car needs the Super Bowl's help to turn heads. The new model has received loud praise from journalists and consumers alike.听

And the Corvette wasn't entirely absent from the Super Bowl festivities. Yesterday,听Baltimore Ravens Quarterback Joe Flacco received a brand-new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray for being named听Super Bowl XLVII MVP. As a nice touch, the keys were presented by Rick Flick, the owner of听Banner Chevrolet in New Orleans East, which was completely destroyed in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina.听