The 2024 Super Bowl ad rankings are beginning to filter in, and the results are all over the place for the big game commercials from Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) and Molson Coors.
In USA Today’s Ad Meter rankings, A-B’s Budweiser spot was the only beer spot to make the top 10, with a 6.08 rating.
“Budweiser brought the Clydesdales back to the Super Bowl commercial lineup in this 60-second spot, a nostalgic move that struck a positive chord with commercial fans,” the outlet wrote.
A-B’s Bud Light “Easy Night Out” ad featuring the debut of the Bud Light genie ranked No. 19, while the Michelob Ultra “Superior Beach” spot featuring futbol legend Lionel Messi, actor Jason Sudeikis and retired Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino ranked No. 20.
Molson Coors’ Coors Light ad, featuring the return of the early 2000s Chill Train with LL Cool J as conductor, placed No. 32.
None of the beer ads placed in AdWeek’s list of the 13 best commercials. However, AdWeek’s look at the most effective ads found that the Michelob Ultra spot “struck a note with fans” and “took top marks from viewers,” per an analysis of ad testing data from market research firms Kantar and System1. The ad ranked 10th in Kantar’s analysis, placing “high for enjoyment.”
Meanwhile, the highest marks for beer ads from AdAge went to A-B’s Bud Light and Michelob Ultra spots, each receiving 3½ stars. AdAge described the Bud Light ad as “a frenetic, gleefully juvenile fantasy-fest that feels (not surprisingly) like a throwback to Bud Light’s bro-forward, untroubled past.”
Although the Michelob Ultra ad was “nothing revolutionary,” its “playful, sunny, upbeat vibe” earned it decent marks.
The return of the Clydesdales could only muster a 2½ star rating for Budweiser. “[T]he story lacks any real emotional heft,” AdAge wrote. “And bringing back the golden Lab from the ‘Puppy Love’ era of spots, a decade ago, feels like a failed grasp at old glories.”
There was no chill in AdAge’s rankings, with Coors Light receiving only 2 stars. AdAge wrote that the Chill Train “return to yesteryear – something Bud Light is trying, too – feels a little warmed over.”
Parting Shot: The Long Drink Makes a Cameo in Taylor Swift’s Suite
While other bev-alc companies were spending seven figures on Super Bowl ads, the Finnish Long Drink was receiving free run next to the biggest celebrity at Sunday’s Super Bowl.
Miles Teller, who starred in last year’s Bud Light Super Bowl ad with spouse Keleigh Sperry, was sporting a black Long Drink hat (and Grateful Dead tie-dye shirt) while watching the game in Taylor Swift’s suite with Sperry. Teller is an investor in the gin-based, ready-to-drink canned cocktail brand.
This shot was captured during the San Francisco 49ers’ fourth quarter drive, with Swift noticeably sweating the outcome.
For her part, Swift was caught on the jumbotron chugging a beer in a plastic cup with a friend.