Americans who stayed up to watch Super Bowl LI’s second half (the portion that came after Lady Gaga’s performance) Sunday evening were treated to a whacky, hair-raising finish. Those who continued to watch after the overtime clock ran out and the New England Patriots were crowned champions were handed an even more poignant and powerful spectacle courtesy of a car company, their plentiful ad dollars, some clever technology and even a prominent Hollywood director.

All of these elements (and more) came together to give deployed active-duty military members an ocean away the chance to watch the big game with their family members in America.

The spot itself:

And here’s how they pulled it off, via USA TODAY:

Hyundai threw a Super Bowl party at a U.S. Military Base in Zagan, Poland, with big-screen TVs and food and drink. Three soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division – Sgt. Richard Morrill, SPC Erik Guerrero and Cpl. Trista Strauch – were selected by the military to watch the game in a special way: They watched the game in individual 360-degree immersive pods that made them feel as if they were in Hyundai’s luxury box at NRG Stadium.

What they didn’t know was that their families would be in the box and they would feel as if they were right there with them.

“When something like the Super Bowl comes up, it kind of reinforces that homesickness that soldiers feel overseas,” said Peter Berg, the Hollywood director who helmed the spot. “People wish they were home. People associate the Super Bowl with family and being with family.”

While not a vet himself, Berg’s father served, as a U.S. Marine.

“Days like this, this Super Bowl, when we can eat as many chicken wings and drink as many Budweisers as we want is because of our troops out and about throughout the world, doing what they do to give us that right,” said Eric Springer, chief creative officer of the ad agency Innocean USA, to the news outlet.