Following the conclusion of the big game there’s no shortage of conversation on Super Bowl commercials. Advertising folks around the world all seem to weigh in with their winners and losers. Trouble is, everyone says the exact same things. Apart from how funny the talking baby is, few talk about who engaged viewers beyond the TV screen. That’s why we created the “Park&Co Super Social Media Bowl.”

The Park&Co staff along with some outside experts, Jeff Goodman, president of word of mouth marketing company “Blabbermouth,” Ed Tankersley, online marketing consultant, and Michael Gass of Fuel Lines and Michael Gass Consulting, rated this years ads in four categories to get to the bottom of who had the best overall campaign on and off the screen. Categories include:

• The TV ad itself
• Digital Footprint (How many places the company is online)
• Social Media Engagement (How well are they interacting with customers online?)
• Word of mouth/”buzzworthiness” (Are viewers likely to talk about them the next day?)

 
The results are what we believe are the real advertising winners and losers from this years Super Bowl. Here’s a peak at the highlights. Full list of winners and losers here. 

Top 3 Winners:

First Place - Denny’s with a cumulative score of 70.

The typically low-key restaurant chain won the prize with a combination of an effective ad and a killer word of mouth campaign centered around free breakfast for the nation. Says Goodman, “Brilliant idea… Now, if the quality of their product lives up, they’re going to develop a whole new following.” Kim Hodge, film and video manager at Park&Co took notice immediately, “The announcement made me stop, say ‘Wow’ and look at the TV again. Who’s coming with me tomorrow?!”

Second Place - Monsters vs. Aliens 3D scoring 68.

While the ad may not have been dynamic in itself, the buzz generated beforehand, and their social media presence online, was good enough to garner a second place finish.

Third place - Tie between Pepsi and Pedigree with 67 points.

Pepsi scored high by driving viewers to its refresheverything.com network while Pedigree’s new direction from the usual animal welfare campaigns resonated well across the board but left some to be desired. As Ed Tankersly points out, “This is a clever spot that’s fun to watch but with no noticeable call for online engagement.”
Our sentiment from this years game was that there were far more duds than studs. Thus, it was much easier to compile our list of worsts. 

The Three Lowest Scores:

H&R Block scored the lowest with a total of 33.

Now might not have been the best time for the death and taxes theme. Couple that with no online presence and no word of mouth potential, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. Dan O’Boyle, Park&Co’s associate creative director laments, “They spend oodles on production for these things and the concepts are no good.” 

NFL dissapoints at 37.

You’d think if it’s the grandest stage in the world, and you own it, you’d come up with something a little better. Maybe even something that takes advantage of the constant NFL conversation? “Consumer participation used in its creation, but how does it build on it?” said Jeff Goodman. Park&Co account manager Rene Hinz also saw an opportunity missed, “Well produced and good stories, but nothing different than what they typically run.”

Coca-Cola comes up short at 38.

This was as much about opportunities missed as anything else. Coke stuck to the same blueprint as always, deciding not to look to their consumers for help. While the ads themselves scored well in our rankings, their lack of social media and word of mouth presence was enough to doom them to the bottom. 

It’s our thought that much more goes into a successful advertising campaign than a clever tagline or slick animation. Even at $3 million dollars and with hundreds of millions potentially watching, nothing beats a good ole’ peer-to-peer recommendation. The real winners are the companies that create buzz and sustain it. 

Who did you think were the winners and losers this year? Ar you engaging with any of these companies beyond simply watching the ads? Let us know. Thanks!