A-B Again Tops USA Today Ad Meter For "Lost Puppy," While NFL PSA Gets High Marks

Budweiser's "Lost Puppy" Super Bowl ad last night "scampered ahead of the pack" to win USA Today's consumer-judged Ad Meter poll for the third consecutive year, according to Bruce Horovitz of USA TODAY. It was a "second year of success for Budweiser with its puppy and Clydesdale horses." An online audience of "more than 20,000 registered panelists voted on the more than 60 commercials" for the Ad Meter (USA TODAY, 2/2). 

USA TODAY AD METER SCOREBOARD: TOP FIVE
Budweiser	Lost puppy saved by Clydesdales
P&G's Always	Redefining "like a girl"
Fiat	Blue pill creates a 500X
Microsoft	Tech helps disabled child walk
Frito-Lay's Doritos	Middle seat airplane
USA TODAY AD METER SCOREBOARD: BOTTOM FIVE
Game of War	Machine Zone game with Kate Upton
Squarespace	Jeff Bridges' Om sleep sound
T-Mobile	Chelsea Handler, Sarah Silverman one-up
Jublia	Animated big toe for fungus drug
Heroes Charge	Mobile video game from Ucool

DOG & PONY SHOW: In L.A., Saba Hamedy writes it is "fair to say that Budweiser won the love of Super Bowl viewers with its 'Lost Dog' commercial" (L.A. TIMES, 2/2). SPORTS ON EARTH's Kaneko & Cosman write, "Don't even pretend that puppy didn't make you cry" (SPORTSONEARTH.com, 2/2). However, VARIETY's Brian Lowry wrote Budweiser "didn't so much come up with new creative as recycle it" (VARIETY.com, 2/1). Meanwhile, AD AGE's E.J. Schultz noted Budweiser in its other spot last night "revived the old 'This Bud's For You' tagline that will anchor a new campaign." The spot, by Anomaly, N.Y., takes "what appear to be shots at fruity micro brews and beer geeks." The campaign "marks the return of 'This Bud's For You,' which has not been used in a significant way in Bud advertising since the late 1970s" (ADAGE.com, 2/1). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Suzanne Vranica writes Budweiser "missed the mark" with its ad "poking fun at craft beers" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/2).

STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION: A Newark STAR-LEDGER editorial states a domestic violence PSA from the NFL and advocacy group No More was a "riveting spot, even if it's a fictional account" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 2/2). In Cleveland, Marc Bona wrote the PSA was "by far the most powerful commercial of the night" (CLEVELAND.com, 2/1). The NEW YORKER's Caitlin Kelly reported that to help create the spot, No More "approached Grey Advertising, the league's agency." Grey, N.Y., Exec Creative Dir Lisa Topol "began working on the project in November" (NEWYORKER.com, 2/1). In Detroit, Susan Whitall wrote the PSA was "chilling, and effective" (DETROIT NEWS, 2/2).

BRINGING THE HA-HA: BILLBOARD's Joe Lynch wrote the Clash of Clans spot "wins for nabbing Liam Neeson to turn a generic mobile game ad into a complete winner" (BILLBOARD.com, 2/1). The L.A. TIMES' Hamedy writes, "Who knew avocados could be so funny?" Many on Twitter called Avocados from Mexico's spot the "wittiest and funniest commercial of the night" (L.A. TIMES, 2/2). In Detroit, Priddle & Snavely write Jeep's "Beautiful Lands" ad "was cinematic," but the Fiat "Blue Pill" ad "went for humor." Twitter traffic "showed an appreciation for the humor in a game with many commercials that veered more to the dramatic" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 2/2). In San Antonio, Jeanne Jakle wrote a "raging Danny Trejo as Marcia Brady was the night’s funniest sight gag" in Snickers' spot (MYSANANTONIO.com, 2/1). YAHOO SPORTS' Mike Oz wrote of Pete Rose's Skechers spot, "It wasn't the No. 1 ad of the year -- heck, it wasn't even brand new -- but it got a huge new audience and probably gave them a chuckle" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 2/1). TiVo GM & Senior VP Tara Maitra said the most re-watched ad by TiVo users was the Budweiser’s “Lost Puppy” ad. Maitra noted many people are calling it the “Downer Bowl” with the heavy themes from ads, but despite “all the sentimental commercials, you still had six of the top 10 where the theme was humor (“Squawk Box,” CNBC, 2/2).

AUTO ZONE: In New Orleans, Dave Walker wrote the Toyota Camry "My Bold Dad" spot "floored me, unexpectedly." It was "poetic and powerful" (NOLA.com, 2/1). YAHOO's Price Peterson wrote the Camry spot was "so gorgeous that it makes you almost grateful that a major corporation would spend the money to make it" (YAHOO.com, 2/1). In Detroit, Michael Wayland noted Kelley Blue Book Senior Analyst Karl Brauer "gave the pre-game kudos to Chevy for its Colorado ad." Brauer: "Bonus points for the simulated TV failure spot that likely had hearts stopping across the country" (DETROIT NEWS, 2/2). However, VARIETY's Lowry wrote car companies "in general had a bad day" (VARIETY.com, 2/1).

RECEIVING HIGH MARKS: In Chicago, Steve Johnson wrote "in the ads, it was the Sincerity Bowl." This year's advertisers "put most of their chips on the heartwarming, the heart-tugging and the heartfelt." Dodge and Always both received A- grades for their spots, even though Always' "Like A Girl" spot "recycles and condenses" previously aired material (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/2). In Orlando, Hal Boedeker listed his "favorites," including spots from Carnival, Always, the NFL's PSA, Dodge, Toyota Camry and Dove (ORLANDOSENTINEL.com, 2/1). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Vranica writes Mophie's spot, from Deutsch, L.A., that "showed the mayhem from the end of the world," won "high marks from advertising executives and consumers." The "biggest upset winner of the night was Nissan" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/2).

TOUGH DAY AT THE OFFICE: VARIETY's Brian Lowry wrote the "overall mix once again seemed to careen from the hopelessly schmaltzy ... to the borderline bizarre." Another "subcategory would be the overproduced extravaganza, such as Mercedes’ CGI 'Tortoise & the Hare' retelling" or Bud Light’s Pac-Man spot (VARIETY.com, 2/1). The DETROIT NEWS' Whitail wrote, "More than a few ads were guilty of overreach," including Carnival. Coca-Cola's "attempt to hook its brand to a 'be nice on the Internet' meme didn't quite work" (DETROIT NEWS, 2/2). In N.Y., Filip Bondy listed Carnival's spot as one of his "cheesiest ads," noting the cruise liner "used an inspiring speech by JFK about the ocean to sell its cruises" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/2). In Chicago, Richard Roeper wrote the "Pay With Lovin'" campaign from McDonald's is "one of the worst ideas in recent marketing history," and it is "going to go horribly wrong." Meanwhile, Nationwide's "Make Safe Happen," Kia's "The Perfect Getaway" and Victoria's Secret's "I'm In The Mood For Love" spots all received F grades (SUNTIMES.com, 2/1). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Vranica writes Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Skechers and Discover "fumbled their opportunity" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/2). NBC’s Willie Geist said there were ads "that didn’t quite hit their mark with many online, like Weight Watchers selling weight loss on the busiest snack day of the year" (“Today,” NBC, 2/2). ADWEEK's Lauren Johnson noted Jeep's "Beautiful Lands" spot was "set to the soundtrack of Woody Guthrie's classic This Land is Your Land," but there is "one glaring problem ... it's more or less the exact same ad The North Face created late last year" (ADWEEK.com, 2/1). The GUARDIAN's Tim Hill wrote the Nissan spot was "disappointing." Hill: "Maybe they shouldn't have bothered." Hill also wrote Bud Light's spot featuring a life-size Pac-man game was ""completely disingenuous" and "phoney" (THEGUARDIAN.com, 2/2).

BIRD WAS THE WORD: ADWEEK’s Christopher Heine wrote McDonald’s “really stood out” on social media, as the company was “tweeting like crazy about other marketer's spots, and the messages garnered thousands of retweets.” It appears that its social media work is “faring better than its Big Game TV spot, which earned a thumbs-down” (ADWEEK.com, 2/1). In N.Y., Emily Steel notes Volvo’s “Interception” campaign encouraged viewers to “tweet the name of someone who matters to them with the tag #volvointerception when they see any car commercial during the game” (N.Y. TIMES, 2/2). ADWEEK’s Johnson reports A-B last night had “four social media war rooms stationed around the country,” and appeared to be “particularly aggressive in paid social for both Budweiser and Bud Light during the event.” The brand “bought Promoted Tweets against keywords from some of this year's smaller Big Game brands, including Newcastle, Loctite and Mophie” (ADWEEK.com, 2/2). REUTERS’ Richwine & Saba note Southwest Airlines “tweeted an offer of free Doritos for fliers who take a selfie in a middle seat on Monday or Tuesday, a nod to a Doritos TV ad set on an airplane” (REUTERS, 2/2).

PHONE FRENZY: RE/CODE’s Ina Fried noted following commercials from Sprint and T-Mobile last night, the top execs from both companies “took aim at each other on Twitter.” T-Mobile CEO John Legere began by “dissing Sprint’s commercial -- and its network.” Legere tweeted, “Half-assed commercial, half-assed data speeds. #typical @sprint. #SprintLikeHell.” Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure responded with a picture that included the text, “Never sacrifice your class to get even with someone who has none. Take the high road.” However, Fried noted Claure then “retweeted some posts unfavorable” to both T-Mobile and its Super Bowl ad spokesperson, Kim Kardashian. This “prompted a further tweet from Legere, suggesting that Claure keep his ‘stay classy’ mantra in mind when it comes to what he retweets” (RECODE.net, 2/1).

LOCAL APPEAL: In Portland, Bruce Ely noted a regional Super Bowl spot from Foot Locker for Trail Blazers G Damian Lillard’s new signature shoe, the adidas D Lillard 1, featured actor Nick Cannon "pitching the idea of being Lillard's signature celebrity fan.” After “listening to Cannon's pitch, Lillard weighs his other, limited options in the room, including a list of past stars like Bobby Brown, Ian Ziering, Shock G and Joey Fatone.” Lillard “quickly accepts the offer.” The Lillard commercial “aired during halftime" in Portland, L.A. and N.Y. (OREGONLIVE.com, 2/1). In Phoenix, Laurie Merrill notes Arizona Federal Credit Union’s ad, titled “My Comeback,” featured former NFLer Kurt Warner, who “announced a new ‘The Biggest Loser’-type reality show for the financially challenged” (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 2/2). ADWEEK’s Nudd noted Virginia-based defense contractor Northrop Grumman is “battling Boeing-Lockheed for [a] defense contract to build the U.S.’s next-gen bomber.” The firm opted to “tease the aircraft” with a 30-second regional spot. The ad is “a first for Northrop, and is believed to be a first for any defense company” (ADWEEK.com, 2/1). In S.F., Matier & Ross wrote Super Bowl 50 boosters aired “a star-studded, 60-second radio spot aimed at drawing attention to the charity side” of the $40M fundraising effort under way for next year’s big game. The ad highlights the 25% portion of the Super Bowl money -- $10M -- that is “going to local nonprofits.” The ad included “more than 30 locally connected celebrities,” including actors Danny Glover and Andy Samberg, singer Tony Bennett, former U.S. figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, guitarist Carlos Santana, celebrity chef Guy Fieri, Gov. Jerry Brown and S.F. Mayor Ed Lee. Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger also appeared in the ad, which was produced by S.F.-based Goodby, Silverstein & Partners (SFGATE.com, 2/1).