Help Choose Top Ad in USA TODAY 30th Ad Meter Anniversary
USA TODAY has launched the Ad Meter 30th Anniversary Bracket presented by Kia. The bracket competition celebrates three decades of its popular Super Bowl advertising competition and industry-leading tool used to measure public opinion surrounding the game’s commercials.
Every year since 1989, USA TODAY’s audience has crowned their favorite Super Bowl commercial, becoming a staple for the advertising and creative community. This year, USA TODAY will be taking a look back at the previous winning ads, giving fans the opportunity to pick their all time favorite beginning today at www.admeter30.usatoday.com. The competition will feature bracket-style, round-by-round voting and will close on January 31st.
The 30th anniversary competition includes last year’s winning spot, Kia’s “Hero’s Journey,” previous winning ads from PepsiCo, and 14 ads from the all time high winner, Anheuser-Busch InBev.
“For 30 years, people have used Ad Meter to voice their opinions on the biggest ads of the year,” said Andy Yost, chief marketing officer, Gannett | USA TODAY NETWORK. “This year, we are excited to bring the winners of the last 29 years together for a competition to crown the best of all time. The competition is stiff, but we trust that the best will rise to the top.”
“As last year’s winner of USA TODAY’s annual Ad Meter poll, we are honored to sponsor the 30th anniversary of this much-anticipated, annual pop culture moment,” said Saad Chehab, vice president, marketing communications, Kia Motors America. “Super Bowl commercials are more popular than ever and we’ll be watching and looking forward to another year of fierce and creative competition.”
The 32 commercials in the anniversary bracket include the 30 winners from the past 29 years of Ad Meter (two tied for the top prize in 2011). To round out the bracket, the two highest-rated, second place finishers are also included. The ads are:
1989, American Express, “Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey go to the Super Bowl”
1990, Nike, “Announcers and Athletes”
1991, Diet Pepsi, “New Jingle Spreads Around the World”
1992, Nike, “Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny”
1993, McDonald’s, “Jordan, Bird Shoot Hoops”
1994, Pepsi, “A Chimp Experiment Goes Awry”
1995, Pepsi, “Boy Gets Sucked Into Pepsi Bottle”
1995, Pepsi, “Pepsi vs. Coke Truck Drivers” (second place)
1996, Pepsi, “Coke Driver Nabs Pepsi”
1996, Pepsi, “Frozen Tundra” (second place)
1997, Pepsi, “Bears Dance to Village People Tune”
1998, Pepsi, “Flying Geese”
1999, Budweiser, “Separated at Birth”
2000, Budweiser, “Rex the Dog Recalls Worst Day”
2001, Bud Light, “Cedric’s Date Goes Awry”
2002, Bud Light, “Romantic Evening Goes Awry with Satin Sheets”
2003, Budweiser, “Football-Playing Clydesdales and Zebra Referees”
2004, Bud Light, “Owners Demonstrate How Their Dogs Fetch Bud Light”
2005, Bud Light, “Pilot Jumps Out of Plane for Six-Pack”
2006, Bud Light, “Secret Fridge Stocks Bud Light”
2007, Budweiser, “Crabs Worship Bud Ice Chest”
2008, Budweiser, “Dalmatian Trains Clydesdale”
2009, Doritos, “Crystal ball Sees Free Doritos”
2010, Snickers, “Betty White and Abe Vigoda Play Football”
2011, Doritos, “Dog Gets Revenge” (tied for first place)
2011, Bud Light, “Dog Sitter Puts Dogs to Work” (tied for first place)
2012, Doritos, “Dog Bribes Cat Owner”
2013, Budweiser, “Horse and Trainer Reunited”
2014, Budweiser, “Puppy Love”
2015, Budweiser, “Lost Dog”
2016, Hyundai, “First Date”
2017, Kia, “Hero’s Journey”
Additionally, a corresponding editorial partnership with Ad Age, the leading global source of news for marketing and media communities, will feature content and articles that look back at the Ad Meter era of Super Bowl advertising and celebrate its creativity.
“The Super Bowl is our Super Bowl,” said Brian Braiker, editor, Ad Age. “We’re pretty pumped to be joining forces editorially with USA TODAY as we mine Ad Age’s Super Bowl Ad Archive for behind-the-scenes stories and insights on classic ads to make the Ad Meter bracket even more robust.“
To vote and celebrate the 30th year of Ad Meter, please visit www.admeter30.usatoday.com.
