EAST LANSING, Mich. - A Mountain Dew commercial featuring Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" topped the Michigan State University Department of Advertising list of the best commercials of Super Bowl XXXIV.
While most football fans watched the St. Louis Rams beat the Tennessee Titans in Sunday night's game, MSU advertising professors huddled around the TV to watch and rate the commercials. Of the nearly 60 commercials that aired during the Super Bowl, the experts rated the Mountain Dew commercial featuring the famous tune as the top ad.
"Both Mountain Dew ads were right on target, " said Bonnie B. Reece, chairperson and professor of MSU Advertising Department. "Animals in ads were big once again and overall, the dot-coms were a bit of a disappointment."
Commercials for E*Trade and Bud Light also scored high marks from the advertising faculty.
Using a 10 point scale, the professors rated each commercial based on creativity, production and overall quality. The team of professors considered whether each commercials' strategy was unique and relevant to the appropriate consumers. They also determined whether its execution was memorable and bolstered the reputation of the product.
Among the commercials that failed to meet the experts' expectations were ads from National Heart Savers Association and Epidemic.com.
"On average, the spots were better this year," said Bruce Vanden Bergh, Advertising professor. "The range between the best and the worst ads were smaller than usual."
MSU's Department of Advertising is consistently ranked among the top advertising programs in the nation.
Here's how the commercials rated according to MSU's Department of Advertising faculty experts:
The Top Ten Touchdowns
1. Mountain Dew "Bohemian Rhapsody"
2. E*Trade "2 Million Dollars Wasted"
3. Bud Light "Stuck in the Elevator"
4. E*Trade "Money Out of the Wazoo"
5. Mountain Dew "Cyclist Chasing the Cheetah"
6. (tie) Bud Light "Dog Movie Star
6. (tie) Budweiser "Fred the Dog"
8 (tie) Charles Schwab "Rock Stars with Ringo Starr
8.(tie) Fed Ex "Wizard of Oz"
10. Census 2000
The "Five Fumbles" of the Super Bowl or worst ads, in order of worst first included:
1. National Heart Savers Association
2. Epidemic.com
3. Budweiser "Tradition"
4. Ourbeginning.com
5. Microstrategy
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