Tied for #1: Dog Sitter Throws Bud Light Party

Tied for the #1 spot in the USA Today Super Bowl poll is the Dog Sitter Bud Light spot.

The spot opens with last minute instructions being given to the dog sitter. "They're really smart. They'll do whatever you tell them." Then, almost as an afterthought, "Oh and there's a ton of Bud Light in the fridge."

Of course, that leads us to the inevitable.

Fast forward to a hopping party where dogs are doing whatever the dog sitter tells them to do ... because they are really smart dogs, remember? Spinning records. Tapping beer. Carrying a tray of beers around the party.

Talented dogs. Plenty of Bud Light. A party in the making. What's not to like?

Sue's Grade: A

Cute. Simple. Effective. 
Enough said.

Tied For #1: Pug Goes For Doritos

Tied for the #1 spot in the USA Today Super Bowl poll is the Doritos spot with the cute pug dog.

This was the first Super Bowl ad I remember seeing, so it was strangely quiet as everyone's Super Bowl Advertising Antenna went up. You didn't need much sound to follow the sequence of this ad.

Man taunts dog with Doritos.
Dog charges man with Doritos.
Dog knocks down door and man.
Dog snatches Doritos.

Case closed.

Sue's Grade: A
This was a good start to the Super Bowl. Little did I know at that time that few ads would be as entertaining as this one. Easy-to-follow and get: don't taunt someone with Doritos unless you are prepared for them to take them.

#3: Pint-Sized Darth Vader Uses Force on VW

Capturing the #3 spot in the USA Today Super Bowl poll is Volkswagen's Darth Vader spot.

Any commercial that starts with Star Wars music can't be all that bad. And this one doesn't disappoint.

Enter Darth Vader. The black-clothed arch-nemesis of the Jedi Knights and father to none other than Luke Skywalker. He carries the force with him as he hurriedly moves down the hall, black cape flying behind him.

He turns the corner and enters ... what? An exercise room in a house? And another surprise awaits ... he's not THE Darth Vader. This is some pint-sized Darth Vader wannabe.

He attempts to use the force on the exercise bike. On his dog. On the dryer. On a doll. On a sandwich his mom prepared. But, he has no power. The force is not within him.

He dejectedly holds his head in his hands. Then, his dog barks and he realizes that his dad has just driven in the driveway. He runs outside where dad expects a hug, but his son runs to the car instead. One last time, he tries the force on the car.

Watching from the kitchen window, dad uses his automatic engine starter to rev the car. The boy turns, shocked and in awe of his talents. At last, he has found the force within him and it worked!

Copy: "The all-new 2010 Passat. Coming soon. Starting around $20,000."

Sue's Grade: A-

This was one of my favorite Super Bowl ads. It was suspenseful, pulling you through the ad, frame by frame. It didn't hit people in the head, have dogs charging men, or bring floating goldfish back to life. It was humorous, entertaining, and interesting. The only reason for an A- is that it didn't register the brand name as well as it could have.

#4: Doritos Rise From The Ashes

Capturing the #4 spot in the USA Today Super Bowl poll is Doritos "Grandpa Rises from the Ashes" spot.

The commercial opens with a man giving last minute details to his buddy as he backs out the door, "Hey dude, feed the fish, water the plant. I'll see you next Thursday."

Of course, his housesitter is immersed in a TV show while munching away at his Doritos, barely registering the instructions he just received.

But at some point, his buddy's words float into his brain and a look of anguish descends upon him. Oh-oh.  He runs to the fish bowl only to see the dead fish laying on the bottom of the bowl. He crunches up Doritos and desperately feeds them to the fish. What? Is this possible? The fish has come back to life!

This is followed in rapid succession by feeding the dead plant Doritos and then rapidly cleaning up the remnants of Doritos that are scattered around the apartment. Just when he is looking smug and happy with himself, his elbow hits an urn on the mantle. It comes crashing down and deposits ashes - well, grandpa's ashes to be exact - all over the floor. Oh-oh.

Flash forward. His buddy comes home, opens the door, and with a shocked look on his face, utters, "Grandpa?" The spot ends with him hugging his grandpa, to a tearful commentary of, "Grandpa, I missed you." 

Sue's Grade: B-

Like all the Doritos spots, this one has its witty and charming moments. But, the enormity of the message is somewhat lost on me. Eating a handful of Doritos brings you back from the dead? I know, I know, I shouldn't be so literal. Okay, Doritos adds a little life to your life. I guess I buy that. 

But, rarely buy Doritos.

#5: Pepsi Max Is Turned Into A Weapon

Capturing the #5 spot in the USA Today Super Bowl poll is the second of the Pepsi Max Spots, Love Is In The Air.

In this ad, Pepsi Max offers a rather in-your-face view of a wife encouraging her man to eat right. It starts with her kicking him under the restaurant table, encouraging him to order a fruit cup. As he's getting ready to dig into a cream pie, she walks by and thrusts his face right smack into the cream. Caught red-handed sneaking some junk food while hiding out in the bathtub, she replaces his gooey burger (which is already in his mouth) with a bar of soap.

In the last scene, he is sitting on a park bench opening a can of Pepsi Max when his wife sidles up alongside him. Instead of taking it from him - as she has with all the other food he's tried to eat - she cracks open her own can of Pepsi Max, smiles, and takes a deep swallow. As he sits there in disbelief, she says, "Pepsi Max. Zero Calories."

Just then, an attractive young lady jogs up and sits down on the bench right next to theirs. She gives the husband a quick once-over, offering him a cute wave and a coy little smile. He unabashedly stares back at her with appreciation. Taking in the scene, his wife throws the can of Pepsi Max at his head, only to have him duck, squarely hitting the jogger in the head. She crumbles to the ground, clearly hurt by the can.

They grab each other's hands and run from the scene of the crime.

Sue's Grade: B-

I thought this was a mildly amusing ad; however, I must admit that the violence did not sit well with me. While the point of Pepsi Max being a dieter's dream - no calories, no sacrifice - came through loudly, I kept wincing as the wife so resoundingly abused her husband time after time. 

Plus, I must ask the obvious: is it smart for Pepsi to turn the Pepsi Max can into a weapon?

#6: CareerBuilder Monkeys Around

Capturing the #6 spot in the USA Today Super Bowl poll is CareerBuilder's mischievous chimp spot.

If you were a fan of the CareerBuilder monkeys during the 2005 and 2006 Super Bowls, you are in for a treat as the monkeys come back to reek havoc on the poor "human" office worker. This time, they pin him into his car by parking uncomfortably close, proving that he works with a bunch of monkeys.

Interestingly, CareerBuilder did not seek the assistance of Cramer-Krasselt, who was the agency that created the original monkey ads. Rather, they created these ads inhouse, using the same look, feel, and  actor that C-K used when the initial spot debuted. That ploy earned a 'raised eyebrow' from this planner.

In conjunction with this campaign, CareerBuilder is also resurrecting Monk-e-mail, which previously racked up 160 million viral messages, earning the status of being one of the most buzzed campaigns of all time.

I'm sure Cramer-Krasselt has some satisfaction in knowing that the monkeys were a good idea all along. After being forced to switch gears and air a different ad - Wild Jungle - during the 2007 Super Bowl, CareerBuilder and Cramer-Krasselt parted ways when the ad fell short of the USA Today Top 10 Super Bowl list.

While I was amused with this spot, immediately drawing the parallel back to earlier advertising, I discovered something interesting in the advertising class I teach at Marquette University. Only 2 of the 50 students recalled the original spots. So, not suprisingly, this ad left them a little mystified as to what was going on. 

College students are an important emerging target for CareerBuilder. My concern is that if they are not linking the ad to the original concept of "feeling like you're working with a bunch of monkeys," then the ad doesn't deliver its message.

Instead, it's just a bunch of cute, mischievous monkeys clowning around in a parking lot.

Sue's Grade: B-

Does The USA Today Ad Meter Work?

This coming Sunday, the most important football game of the year will be played when the Green Bay Packers take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV.

But, that's not all that's happening on Sunday.

In between masterful passes, catches, sacks, tackles, interceptions, and fumbles we will remain glued to the TV set. Why? To watch the advertising, of course. We will be treated to $3 million-for-30-seconds-of-fame ads that will bring tears to our eyes, make us chortle with laughter, and occasionally disappoint or even perplex us.

Interestingly, the ads that air during the Super Bowl have become as much a superstar on game day as the athletes on the field. People will watch - and later rewatch online - the best ads, the worse ads, even the ads that were banned and never made it to the big screen.

Super Bowl ads have become big business in the United States. In fact, according to a study conducted by Grand Rapids advertising and branding agency, Hanon McKendry, 54% of people watch the big game for the advertising rather than the football. 

After the Lombardi trophy has found its way to a new home, leaving some fans elated and others totally dejected, we will turn to USA Today on Monday morning to find out which ads made the Top Ten list based on their annual Ad Meter survey; a survey that has become a legend unto itself.

So, just how does USA Today's Ad Meter work?

Each year, USA Today prerecruits 300 Americans who are representative of the U.S. population to participate in their survey. They provide each with a hand-held device that they are asked to use while watching commercials during the Super Bowl game. The device has a dial on it, which is initially set in a neutral position.  When viewers watch an ad, they are asked to turn the dial to the right during parts of each ad they like and to the left during parts they don't like. The farther they turn the dial, the more intense their feelings.

Once the game is completed, the average scores for each ad are tabulated; then the ads are ranked. The result is USA Today's Top 10 ranked Super Bowl ads.

But, the $3 million question is this: Does this score positively correlate to sales? In other words, are the most-liked ads more likely to increase sales?

Well, according to Philip Herr's commentary in Advertising Age on 1/28/11, the simple answer is no.

Millward Brown, a behemoth global research company, was commissioned by the NFL to explore the correlation between the USA Today Ad Meter results and in-market sales. The results were quite intriguing:

1. A spot on the Super Bowl is equal to, on average, 250 spots on regular TV
2. The more established the brand, the better the extended ROI from a Super Bowl ad
3. A spot on the Super Bowl has a positive halo effect on related, but unadvertised, brands
4. The quarter of the game in which a brand advertises is irrelevant
5. There is a lot more to success then the likability of an ad

It is point 5 that brings us back to the USA Today Ad Meter.  The Millward Brown study clearly showed that while likability is necessary to be a top-rated ad, it is not enough - in and of itself - to generate sales.

So, the bottom line?

The Ad Meter is fun to look at and to comment on, but it doesn't ensure that the brand will ring up more sales.

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Note: Starting Monday, February 7, I will critique the #10 ad on the USA Today list. Each day, I will comment on a new ad, wrapping up with the #1 highest rated ad on Wednesday, February 16.