NEW YORK - Anheuser-Busch Cos.'s Rocky-themed commercial featuring a Clydesdale horse with a Dalmatian dog as its trainer was rated the top Super Bowl advertisement, according to USA Today's Ad Meter and the polling website Adbowl.com.
Super Bowl advertisers during the Fox broadcast benefited from a captive audience in the New York Giants' 17-14 win over the New England Patriots to pitch products using oversized carrier pigeons, a talking stain, parade balloons, and a Clydesdale horse vying to pull the Budweiser wagon. Omnicom Group Inc.'s DDB Chicago created the commercial for Budweiser.
"The Clydesdales already have a relationship with everyone in America so people want to like the spot," said Steve McKee, president of Albuquerque-based McKee Wallwork Cleveland Advertising, the firm that runs Adbowl. "It's somewhat formulaic, but it's a formula we like."
An ad for Bridgestone Corp.'s tires, in which forest animals scream as a car narrowly dodges a squirrel, was the second-best ad, according to Adbowl.
Coca-Cola Co. had another of the top-rated ads with Thanksgiving Day parade balloons Underdog and "The Family Guy's" Stewie battling for a Coke bottle, only to be beaten out by Charlie Brown over Central Park. Another favorite involved carrier pigeons the size of cars attempting to deliver packages for a business, until the company's boss suggests switching to FedEx Corp.
Car, beverage, and movie advertisers battled it out during timeouts trying to take advantage of a live game when fewer viewers were likely to record and skip commercials.
Humor and celebrity appearances landed commercials on the top list for TiVo Inc.'s digital video recorder users, who could play back their favorite spots.
ETrade Financial Corp.'s talking baby, who gushed about how easy it is to buy stock using the online service and then spit up, was the most watched commercial for TiVo DVR users.
PepsiCo Inc.'s ads with singer Justin Timberlake and a viewer-created commercial where a human-size mouse goes after a whole bag of Doritos came in second and third, TiVo said yesterday.
Procter & Gamble Co.'s ad for Tide-to-Go featuring a talking stain on a man's dress shirt during a job interview also made the top 10 in USA Today's poll.
Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management ad review panel, run by marketing professor Tim Calkins, rated the Tide commercial as the best, based on ads that catch consumers' attention and are most likely to build brand awareness.
The panel also gave "A" grades to Coca-Cola, FedEx, and ETrade.
