NEW YORK, Feb. 8, 2010 -- As always, there's as much talk today about Super Bowl ads as there is about the big game itself. Everyone has their favorites and there are some rankings.
Aging TV sitcom stars Betty White and Abe Vigoda have given the over 80 crowd something to celebrate. Their candy bar ad finished first in USA Today's ranking of most liked Super Bowl commercials.
"It was just really charming and cute and it had some humor in it which people really like on Super Bowl Sunday," said USA Today’s Laura Petrecca.
Second was the dog collar ad for Doritos, which comes with $600,000 in prize money for its 24-year-old amateur producer, Josh Svoboda.
"I've never had more than 1200 bucks in my bank account," said Josh.
His team of aspiring filmmakers in Raleigh, North Carolina spent only $400 making the commercial and weren't told Doritos was using it.
"We didn't know we were gonna air until everybody in the world knew."
Other ads that fared well with focus groups were the ones with talking babies, the stranded beer truck rescued by a human bridge and the jaw-dropper featuring late night rivals Letterman and Leno.
In total, though, this year's crop was a letdown for some.
"I think there were 10 ads with guys in their underwear," said Donny Deutsch, CNBC.
What was most gratifying to advertisers, was a bigger audience on the internet than on TV.
"Oh my gosh, these ads have an incredible shelf-life," said Petrecca. "They go on and on after the game. People are passing the ads to each other through emails. Marketers are posting them on YouTube and their own websites."
It’s airtime that's free compared to the $3 million per 30 seconds during the game.
