Another Super Bowl is in the books and we may have seen two champions go out on top. While there is widespread speculation that it was Peyton Manning’s last game in the NFL, we know for a fact that it was the final year for Doritos “Crash the Super Bowl” contest after a ten-year run. With two of their user-created ads airing in this year’s game, it was “No Dogs Allowed” that was the most-liked of the 54 ads we analyzed. The ad, driven by high Likeability, Attention, and Desire, had a Likeability component score of 750.
In a year in which 55 percent of Super Bowl ads used humor as a vehicle, half of the most-liked ads followed this trend. We saw three newcomers make the list, with Paypal.com and LG relying on high impact visuals to win over the massive Super Bowl audience, and Colgate finding likeability in its cause-based promotion of water conservation.
This was also a year in which the pendulum swung toward shorter ads, with 28 percent running :60 or longer, compared to 43 percent in 2015. Three of the most-liked were :60, including the only automotive ad on the list, Audi’s “The Commander.” This was also one of the few high likeability ads to use a full-blown story-arc as opposed to a more direct light-hearted or product-focused approach.
Much has been made of this year’s high turnout of celebrities, with 42 percent of ads attempting to capitalize on star-power. Audiences enjoyed these appearances, as four of the most-liked ads had celebrities in them, including Paul Rudd as the voice of Ant-Man in Coca-Cola’s “Hulk vs. Ant-Man.”
One final note, the Financial category broke through this year in unprecedented form, with two of the most-liked ads. The Finance category hadn’t seen this much success since the last ride of the E*trade baby in 2013.
Without further ado, we present the this year’s top Super Bowl ads by Likeability Score*:
ad title |
brand |
category |
air date |
score(s) |
(SB16) No Dogs Allowed |
Doritos |
Candies & Snacks |
02.07.2016 |
Likeability 750 |
(SB16) A New Truck to Love |
Honda |
Automotive |
02.07.2016 |
Likeability 724 |
(SB16) Save Water |
Colgate |
Personal Care |
02.07.2016 |
Likeability 722 |
(SB16) Wiener Stampede |
Heinz |
Packaged Foods |
02.07.2016 |
Likeability 722 |
(SB16) Commander |
Audi |
Automotive |
02.07.2016 |
Likeability 717 |
(SB16) Hulk vs. Ant-Man |
Coca-Cola |
Beverages - Non Alcoholic |
02.07.2016 |
Likeability 709 |
(SB16) There's a New Money In Town |
Paypal.com |
Financial |
02.07.2016 |
Likeability 707 |
(SB16) Never a Sellout |
TurboTax |
Financial |
02.07.2016 |
Likeability 706 |
(SB16) Man From The Future |
LG |
Technology |
02.07.2016 |
Likeability 705 |
(SB16) Marilyn |
Snickers |
Candies & Snacks |
02.07.2016 |
Likeability 702 |
*Definition: The Likeability Score is one component of the overall Ace Score, which is the measure of ad creative effectiveness based on viewer reaction to national TV and online video ads, providing the advertising industry an unbiased resource to measure creative impact. The results are presented on a scale of 1–950. More information about the Ace Score and research methodology can be found here. This list represents the top 10 Super Bowl ads by Likeability. The list is based on National ads to have debuted during the beginning of Super Bowl game play through the final whistle on February 7, 2016.
For a deep dive into this year’s ads and Super Bowl trends, register here to join us this Thursday, February 11th for our annual post-game ad wrap-up webinar.