Doritos Tops USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter, Knocking Off A-B

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Doritos has won USA TODAY's Super Bowl Ad Meter, ending Anheuser-Busch's 10-year run, and for the "first time, it wasn't an ad agency that created the best-liked Super Bowl commercial," according to Bruce Horovitz of USA TODAY. The winning Doritos spot, "Free Doritos," features a "guy who shatters a vending machine with his crystal ball after predicting free Doritos for everyone in the office." The spot was created by Dave and Joe Herbert, "two unemployed brothers" from Indiana who earned $1M from Doritos maker Frito-Lay for the ad winning the USA Today poll. Frito-Lay Group VP/Marketing Ann Mukherjee said the company will have "an ongoing relationship with the brothers," and they are "now part of the family." A-B InBev Exec VP/Global Industry Development & Chief Creative Officer Bob Lachky joked of the Doritos ad winning the Ad Meter, "Tell them to do a recount." But he "conceded that the winning Doritos ad was pretty funny." Horovitz notes A-B InBev "did well, with two ads ranking among Ad Meter's top five"  (USA TODAY, 2/2). The Herberts appeared on NBC’s “Today” this morning wearing Doritos shirts. Joe Herbert said, “We researched what it meant to get the No. 1 spot on the Ad Meter and we tailored our commercial to what we thought would generate that kind of reaction from an audience” (“Today,” NBC, 2/2).

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GETTING TOO VIOLENT? In S.F., Peter Hartlaub writes it was a "big year for random acts of violence and sentimentality in this year's crop of Super Bowl commercials." While there were "several bright spots, the Super Bowl ads as a whole were an underwhelming lot." The pervasive theme of violence in the ads was a "change from past Super Bowls, when kicks to the groin shared equal time with sexual content and bathroom humor" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 2/2). YAHOO SPORTS' Matthew Darnell writes, "Was it just me, or did it seem like a lot of the ads during the Super Bowl had some element of violence to them? ... I'm concerned that advertisers are getting to a point where they can't make someone laugh unless someone's in physical or emotional pain" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 2/2). But in St. Petersburg, Eric Deggans writes, "Among the best commercials were those that fell back on comedy staples: crotch blows and slapstick" (TAMPABAY.com, 2/1).

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WHERE'S THE ECONOMIC SENSITIVITY? In Ft. Worth, Robert Philpot notes some of the "advanced buzz surrounding this year's Super Bowl ads" indicated that the spots would be a "little more sensitive because of the down economy." But that "didn't happen," as many of the ads "featured slapstick violence." Philpot notes two early ones "featured guys crashing through windows, and one involved a dude getting hit in the crotch with a crystal ball" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 2/2). Kirshenbaum Bond & Partners co-Founder Jon Bond: “You have to look at the context of the world, and I think some of the spots that would have been good in other years seemed frivolous” (Fox Business, 2/2). But Association of Independent Commercial Producers President & CEO Matt Miller said, “This year people pulled back a little bit and had a little bit more soulful and toned-down message.” Deutsch L.A. President & Chief Creative Officer Eric Hirshberg: “It seemed like the advertisers were reigning it in a little bit, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing” (“Today,” NBC, 2/2). In Denver, Joanne Ostrow writes "reality kept intruding in the form of uncomfortably stark commercials" during the game. Ostrow: "Certain of the spots, always barometers of the public's mood as perceived by Madison Avenue, echoed the grim truth" (DENVER POST, 2/2). In N.Y., David Li writes the ads "focused largely on simple, hopeful messages and used relatively low-key pitches to woo cash-strapped consumers." Adweek's Barbara Lippert: "It really is a sign of the times when Cash4Gold and Denny's did better than Budweiser" (N.Y. POST, 2/2).

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MIDDLE OF THE ROAD: In Detroit, Julie Hinds writes the ads "weren't the best ever, but they tried to be as big and bold as those from better times" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 2/2). In Boston, Christine McConville writes the ads "improved as the night progressed" (BOSTON HERALD, 2/2). In Austin, Kirk Bohls writes, "For the most part, the commercials were better than the game until the last quarter. Got a question: Why aren't commercials this funny the other 364 days? Do they just use hack ad writers the rest of the year?" (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 2/2). But in N.Y., David Hinckley writes the Super Bowl itself was "better than the ads," as for the "second consecutive year, the buzz today will probably surround the thrilling game, not the so-so ad spots" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/2). In California, Chuck Barney writes while the "pricey commercials have been the main event" during many Super Bowl telecasts, the ads yesterday "played third string to not only a down-to-the-wire thriller, but Bruce Springsteen's breathtaking halftime show" (CONTRA COSTA TIMES, 2/2).

SOLD OUT: NBC sold all game advertising for its broadcast of Super Bowl XLIII, setting a Super Bowl record of $206M in advertising revenue from a total of 32 advertisers. The net totaled $261M in revenue for the full Super Bowl day, also a Super Bowl record (THE DAILY).

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