It’s a rare competition that pits Budweiser against Betty White, but here goes. The Daily Beast presents its fourth annual ranking of the most successful Super Bowl advertisements.
These are the ads since 2005 that have generated the most critical and consumer acclaim. For this year’s number-crunching, we considered USA Today’s Ad Meter scores as a measure of viewer likability, grades from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management’s Super Bowl Advertising Review as a quality assessment of advertising strategy, and the change in stock price of the parent company (closing pricing the day before the Super Bowl versus average price a month after) to measure consumer action. For private companies, the mean price change of 0.95 percent of all public companies ranked was used.
20. Dannon Oikos: John Stamos Tease
Year: 2012 Ad Meter Score: 7.54 Kellogg Grade: A Share Price Change: 2.53 percent
19. Kia: Male Fantasy
Year: 2012 Ad Meter Score: 7.75 Kellogg Grade: B Share Price Change: 0.95 percent**Private company
18. Bud Light: Rock, Paper, Scissors
Year: 2007 Ad Meter Score: 8.28 Kellogg Grade: A Share Price Change: 0.72 percent
17. Budweiser: The Stray Dog, the Beauty Queen, and the Clydesdales
Year: 2007 Ad Meter Score: 8.29 Kellogg Grade: A Share Price Change: 0.72 percent
16. Bud Light: House of Beer
Year: 2010 Ad Meter Score: 7.91 Kellogg Grade: B Share Price Change: 2.55 percent
15. Budweiser: Dalmatian Trains Clydesdale
Year: 2008 Ad Meter Score: 8.73 Kellogg Grade: A Share Price Change: -0.99 percent
14. Volkswagen: Young Darth Vader
Year: 2011 Ad Meter Score: 7.95 Kellogg Grade: A Share Price Change: 2.01 percent
13. Doritos: Giant Rat Thief
Year: 2008 Ad Meter Score: 7.94 Kellogg Grade: B Share Price Change: 2.57 percent
12. Bud Light: Secret Fridge
Year: 2006 Ad Meter Score: 8.39 Kellogg Grade: A Share Price Change: 0.80 percent
11. Bridgestone: Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head
Year: 2009 Ad Meter Score: 7.83 Kellogg Grade: C Share Price Change: 8.92 percent
10. Budweiser: King Crab
Year: 2010 Ad Meter Score: 8.56 Kellogg Grade: A Share Price Change: 0.72 percent
9. Chrysler: Clint Eastwood’s Halftime in America
Year: 2012 Ad Meter Score: 8.46** Kellogg Grade: B Share Price Change: 0.95 percent* **Based on double Facebook ad meter score, as halftime commercials are excluded from overall ranking.*Private company
8. M&M’s: Mrs. Brown Debut
Year: 2012 Ad Meter Score: 8.47 Kellogg Grade: A Share Price Change: 0.95 percent**Private company
7. Bud Light: Rescue Dog Weego
Year: 2012 Ad Meter Score: 8.42 Kellogg Grade: C Share Price Change: 1.61 percent
6. Doritos: Dog-Collar Revenge
Year: 2010 Ad Meter Score: 8.27 Kellogg Grade: B Share Price Change: 3.30 percent
5. FedEx: Caveman Delivery
Year: 2006 Ad Meter Score: 7.95 Kellogg Grade: B Share Price Change: 6.22 percent
4. Doritos: Crystal Ball
Year: 2009 Ad Meter Score: 8.46 Kellogg Grade: A Share Price Change: 1.88 percent
3. Skechers: Dog in Sneakers
Year: 2012 Ad Meter Score: 8.57 Kellogg Grade: A Share Price Change: 1.74 percent
2. Audi: Vampire Party
Year: 2012 Ad Meter Score: 7.25 Kellogg Grade: C Share Price Change: 6.52 percent
1. Snickers: Betty White Football
Year: 2010 Ad Meter Score: 8.68 Kellogg Grade: A Share Price Change: 2.55 percent