Here is what I know about Sunday’s Super Bowl. I read these facts right on Twitter and spoke to members of the press. This  event was a huge milestone for social media. Twitter reported that 24.1 million tweets were generated about the game and the halftime show. Beyoncé was the star of Twitter with 268,000 tweets per minute (TPM). The end of the game generated 183,000 TPM; the 108-yard kickoff return touchdown by the Ravens’ Jacoby Jones, 185,000 TPM; and the power outage, 231,500 TPM.

Another first was that brands such as Tide, Oreo, and Calvin Klein reacted quickly and posted clever ads on Twitter related to the outage. The Oreo ad generated the most attention and admiration for its quick thinking media team:

When the lights went out, Oreo tweeted “You can still dunk in the dark.” It was retweeted more than 15,000 times. Tide was very clever too. “We can’t get your blackout. But we can get your stains out.” That message was re-tweeted about 1,300 times. Calvin Klein tweeted a video of a shirtless, chiseled male model doing crunches “since the lights are still out…”

You are witnessing social marketing history. Companies are learning how to use “real-time marketing” for free. Expect to see everyone jumping on this opportunity after watching these three innovative companies try it first.