Bud, ETrade Score Big in Super Bowl Ads

February 9, 2010

Budweiser and ETrade were the big winners among TV advertisers in the 2010 Super Bowl, according to an online survey from MediaCurves.com.

Two of the top 10 overall most popular TV ads aired on CBS during Super Bowl XLIV on February 7, 2010 promoted Budweiser, including the number one ad. ETrade also scored two ads in the top 10, taking the seventh and 10th spots. Doritos, which had the fourth-most-popular overall ad, just missed also having two ads in the top 10 by securing the number eleven spot, as well.

Top 10 Most Popular Super Bowl XLIV Ads

Following is a list of the top Super Bowl 10 ads ranked by overall popularity with viewers. The score is a metric created by MediaCurves.com.

1. Budweiser – “Bull” (72.78)
2. Snickers – “Betty White” (70.95)
3. Denny’s – “Free Grand Slam” (67.12)
4. Doritos – “Hands Off” (66.82)
5. FLO TV – “Generation” (66.03)
6. Budweiser – “Bridge Out” (65.45)
7. ETrade – “Baby in Airplane” (65.37)
8. Intel – “Smart Computing” (65.17)
9. Google – “Search On” (64.56)
10. ETrade – “Wolf Style” (64.08)

Budweiser Captures Water Cooler

Budweiser’s top-rated “Bull” ad was ranked first out of all 110 ads which aired during the game for positive emotional response, second for viewer interest, and second for likelihood of viewers discussing it around the water cooler the next day. The “Bridge Out” ad ranked eighth in viewer interest, 12th in emotion, and fifth in water cooler ranking.

ETrade Baby Talk is a Hit

ETrade’s “Baby in Airplane” ad ranked 14th in viewer interest, seventh in emotion, and seventh in water cooler ranking. The “Wolf Style” ad ranked ninth in interest, 14th in emotion, and eighth in water cooler ranking. Both ads featured wisecracking talking babies, which have been a staple of ETrade’s TV advertising for several years.

Betty White Draws Interest

Snickers’ “Betty White” ad, which ranked second in overall popularity, took the number one spot for viewer interest. It also ranked fifth in emotion and third in water cooler ranking.

Other Findings

  • Doritos’ “Hands Off” commercial, featuring the young son of a single mother lecturing his mother’s date on how to behave, received top water cooler ranking.
  • Go Daddy’s “Massage” ad, which generated pregame publicity for its raunchy content and featured Indy/NASCAR racecar driver Danica Patrick, ranked 109th out of 110th in overall popularity, and took the bottom spot in emotion.
  • An ad for the CBS reality show “Survivor” was ranked last in overall popularity, taking the bottom spot for interest and scoring 109th in emotion and 108th in water cooler ranking.
  • Budweiser’s sister product Bud Light had ads ranked 15th and 19th in overall popularity.

Pregame Buzz Poor Predictor of Ad Popularity
An ad known as “Miracle Baby” from advocacy group Focus on the Family featuring college football star Tim Tebow generated the most pregame marketing buzz, according to The Nielsen Company. However, once aired, the ad only scored 91st in overall popularity. A company which chose not to advertise, Pepsi, and a company whose ad was denied, gay dating site ManCrunch, ranked number two and three in pregame buzz. While Doritos was ranked number four, Go Daddy’s “Massage” flop received more pregame buzz than Budweiser’s highly successful series of ads.

About the Survey: During the game, the Super Bowl ads were inserted into an on-line survey and sent to thousands of study participants. Participants answered questions regarding their perceptions of the ads using various parameters, including breakthrough, emotion, memorability and involvement. They also utilized an online dial testing system to indicate their levels of interest as they watched the ads.

The interest levels were analyzed in the form of curves to determine which commercials had the highest sustained levels of interest. The curves were used as part of a metric to calculate and rank the advertisements. The metric also includes a measurement for emotions and an index for “word of mouth” impact of the ads.

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