Contact: Russ White, University Relations, (517) 432-0923, whiterus@msu.edu
2/02/2004
EAST LANSING, Mich. - A Bud Light television advertisement featuring Cedric the Entertainer getting an unexpected spa treatment topped the Michigan State University Department of Advertising�s list of the best commercials of Super Bowl XXXVIII.
While football fans watched the New England Patriots beat the Carolina Panthers in Sunday night�s National Football League game, MSU advertising faculty members huddled to watch and rate the commercials. Of the nearly 60 commercials that aired during the Super Bowl, the experts rated the Bud Light commercial as the top ad. Anheuser-Busch dominated this year�s ratings by taking the first three and five of the top 10 spots.
�Anheuser-Busch is the king of Super Bowl advertising,� said Bruce Vanden Bergh, professor of advertising at MSU. �They always entertain and reinforce their brands with their target markets.�
Other commercials for Anheuser-Busch featuring a monkey, fetching dogs, aspiring donkeys and a gassy horse also scored high marks from the advertising faculty. Pepsi�s Sierra Mist and Chevrolet scored well too.
�Chevy was more creative than automotive companies have traditionally been,� said Vanden Bergh.
Using a 10-point scale, the faculty rated each commercial based on creativity, production and overall quality. The team considered whether each commercial�s strategy was unique and relevant to the appropriate target consumers and 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 promotional spots for upcoming motion picture releases, Levitra ads featuring Mike Ditka, and AOL spots featuring the Orange County Choppers motorcycle club.
�AOL�s ubiquitous free discs do a better job of promoting their service than those spots did,� said MSU advertising professor Dave Regan.
Here�s how the commercials stacked up, according to MSU�s Department of Advertising faculty experts:
Top Ten Touchdowns
1. Bud Light Cedric�s bikini wax
2. Bud Light fetching dogs
3. Bud Light romantic monkey
4. Pepsi shopping bears
5. Chevrolet Aveo
6. Sierra Mist parade/kilt
7. Bud Light romantic horse
8.Chevrolet SSR/kids with soap
9. Budweiser aspiring donkey
10. MasterCard Simpsons
Fumbles, in order of worst to first:
1. AOL bikers
2. Levitra
3. All the movie spots