Sports fans know that the Denver Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers by a score of 24 to 10 to win Super Bowl 50. All morning, marketers and consumers have been talking about their favorite Super Bowl ads. But which ads were the biggest winners for brands? Well, different metrics provide different answers.
YouTube Views: Top 10 Super Bowl Ads & Teasers
YouTube announced the top trending Big Game ads and teasers on YouTube (by views) through Wednesday, Feb. 3. That right – these ads were declared winners four days before Super Bowl Sunday! Can they do that? Well, about 110 million viewers have tuned in to the television broadcast of the Big Game every year since 2011. But, according to YouTube data, Super Bowl 50 ads and teasers had been watched more than 140 million times as of Feb. 3, 2016, with more than half of all views coming from mobile devices. According to YouTube data, people had already watched nearly 200 years’ worth of Big Game ads and teasers on YouTube four days before the Big Game, including over a century’s worth of Super Bowl 50 ads watched on mobile alone. Close to 40 Big Game ads, and over 130 teasers and ads combined, had been posted to YouTube at least four days before Super Bowl Sunday, representing nearly all of the brands who aired spots during the Big Game. And for good reason. Brands that release their ad on YouTube before the game receive an average of 2.2x more views than those that waited until game day to post an ad, according to a Pixability Industry Study of Super Bowl 2015 YouTube Ads. This year, the top pre-game ad was from Hyundai. It has surpassed 15 million views in just three days to become the most watched ad or teaser as of Feb. 3.
“We use YouTube to jump-start the conversation around our commercials,” Dean Evans, Chief Marketing Officer, Hyundai Motor America, told Natalie Marchant, YouTube Sponsorships Program Manager. “People need to see them, like them and want to talk about them. And that’s what YouTube allows us to do.” Here’s the top trending Big Game ads and teasers on YouTube (by views) through Feb. 3:
1. Hyundai — The Chase – Hyundai Super Bowl Commercial | The 2017 Hyundai Elantra
2. Pokémon — #Pokemon20: Pokémon Super Bowl Commercial
3. Pepsi — Jerry Rice and Shannon Sharpe Party Fail Study | Walmart | Pepsi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYau1vaCpag4. AXE — AXE — Find Your Magic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzTSE6kcLwY5. TurboTax — TurboTax 2016 Commercial “George Smoot Simple Questions” (Official :30) TV Ad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqinSvgeJQI6. TurboTax — TurboTax 2016 Commercial “Michio Kaku Absolute Zero” (Official :30) TV Ad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WNlWyFgLCg7. UnitedHealthcare — UnitedHealthcare | Delivery :30
8. Wix.com — Kung Fu Panda’s Po Discovers the Power of Wix | Wix.com #StartStunning 2016 Big Game Campaign
9. TurboTax — TurboTax 2016 Commercial “S. James Gates W‑2” (Official :30) TV Ad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbyLFql8qKM10. MINI USA — MINI USA | #DefyLabels Big Game TV Spot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9XqYAzbmTIUSA Today’s Ad Meter: Top 5 Super Bowl Commercials
On the other hand, USA Today conducts a live poll during the telecast of the Big Game. And here are the 5 best Super Bowl 50 commercials, according to Ad Meter voters:
1. Hyundai, “First Date” Score: 6.91
2. Heinz, “Wiener Stampede” Score: 6.64
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOlfhBT8i9I3. Doritos, “Ultrasound” Score: 6.61
4. Doritos, “Doritos Dogs” Score: 6.49
5. Hyundai, “Ryanville” Score: 6.27
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njKapVGzbucUnruly: Top 10 Most Shared Ads of Super Bowl 50
Finally, there’s video ad tech company Unruly’s Super Bowl 2016 Crown, which ranks Facebook as well as YouTube videos by the number of shares they attract on Facebook and the blogosphere as opposed to the number of views. According to Unruly, ranking branded content by the volume of active pass-on rather than the more passive metric of video consumption (views) is “a true measure of a brand’s viral success.” Unruly’s stats are based on data from Unruly Analytics, which were compiled on Feb. 8, 2016. According to Unruly’s data, Doritos “Ultrasound’ is the most shared ad of Super Bowl 2016. The ad, which features a pregnant woman getting an ultrasound while her husband munches on a bag of Doritos, attracted a total of 893,465 shares, putting it way ahead of the extended version of T‑Mobile’s “Restricted Bling”, in second spot (346,854 shares).
Doritos’ win brings Budweiser’s Super Bowl dominance to an end. The AB InBev company’s ads have finished at the top of the pile for the last three Super Bowls, but the beer brand had to settle for third spot this year, with “Give A Damn”, featuring Helen Mirren, attracting 301,317 shares. Despite a number of brands releasing their ads early online, this year has seen a significant decrease in sharing activity from the previous year. The top 10 ads have so far generated 2,889,156 shares online altogether — a 36 percent decrease on what the top 10 managed at the same time last year (4,485,297) and only slightly higher than in 2014 (2,460,075). “The Super Bowl offers brands an ideal opportunity to engage consumers, but this year advertisers failed to create content that fans and viewers want to watch and share,” Sara Wood, Unruly’s co-founder and co-CEO said. “Last year was an emotional rollercoaster; this year was Super Bowl lite.” In fourth spot is an ad celebrating the 20-year anniversary of Pokemon, followed by the extended version of Heinz’s cute “Wiener Stampede” in fifth. The 30-second version of the same ad also makes the top 10. While Doritos took the number one position, T‑Mobile managed to get more ads in the top 10 than any other brand. Both the extended and 30-second versions of “Restricted Bling” starring rapper Drake, feature in the top 10, while “Drop The Balls” was in ninth – despite only being released online on Sunday. Other ads to appear in this year’s top 10 include Hyundai’s “First Date” (6th), starring US comedian Kevin Hart, and Mountain Dew’s “#PuppyMonkeyBaby” (7th). Here is Unruly’s ranking of the most shared ads of Super Bowl 50:
The 30-second version of the same ad also makes the top 10. While Doritos took the number one position, T‑Mobile managed to get more ads in the top 10 than any other brand. Both the extended and 30-second versions of “Restricted Bling” starring rapper Drake, feature in the top 10, while “Drop The Balls” was in ninth – despite only being released online on Sunday. Other ads to appear in this year’s top 10 include Hyundai’s “First Date” (6th), starring US comedian Kevin Hart, and Mountain Dew’s “#PuppyMonkeyBaby” (7th). Here is Unruly’s ranking of the most shared ads of Super Bowl 50:
1. Doritos — Ultrasound Agency: Peter Carstairs Total shares: 893,465
2. T‑Mobile — Restricted Bling (Extended Version) Agency: Publicis Seattle Total Shares: 346,854
3. Budweiser #GiveADamn Agency: Anomaly Total shares: 301,317
4. Pokemon — #Pokemon20: Pokémon Super Bowl Commercial Agency: Omelet Total shares: 297,706
5. Heinz — Wiener Stampede (Extended Version) Agency: DAVID Miami Total shares: 295,805
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNN9nL2vppM6. Hyundai — First Date Agency: Innocean Worldwide Total shares: 245,656
7. Mountain Dew — #PuppyMonkeyBaby Agency: BBDO Total shares: 158,481
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql7uY36-LwA8. T‑Mobile — Restricted Bling (30 Sec) Agency: Publicis Seattle Total shares — 124,551
9. T‑Mobile — Drop the Balls Agency: Publicis Seattle Total shares — 113,668
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI8YZdejPKg10. Heinz — Wiener Stampede 30 sec Agency: DAVID Miami Total shares 111,643
Which Metrics Should Professional Marketers Use?
So, which metrics should professional marketers use? Actually, the right answer is: All of the above. Measurement is essential, both for defining success and optimizing toward it. So, it is important to identify the right Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of your brand’s viral video marketing strategy. Most professional marketers find it useful to select one metric for each of the following three buckets that measure engagement with their content:
- Audience: Are you reaching the right audience? How well?
- Expression: Is your target audience engaging with your content? How much?
- Participation: Is your audience endorsing and sharing your content? How much?
The number of views is a key metric for the first bucket. The Ad Meter is a key metric for the second bucket. And the number of shares is a key metric for the third bucket. Hopefully, this gives you a 360-degree, 3D view of what successful video marketing looks like today. But by next year’s Super Bowl, who knows what it will look like. For example, millions of viewers may be able to “watch” the next year’s Big Game using Virtual Reality (VR) devices. In his keynote speech at CES 2016, Robert Kyncl, the Chief Business Officer at YouTube, said, “For VR to be truly successful, you need four things to happen. You need the camera technology to capture video in 3D and 360, you need a storyteller who can create content using that technology, you need a device for users to view it and you need a platform on which that content can live.” All four of these things are expected to happen in 2016. So, you can expect the world of video marketing to change dramatically before Super Bowl 2017.