The Scoop: Most popular Super Bowl ads celebrate the little guy

The Super Bowl ads that made the biggest impact this year were earnest, homespun concoctions that put an emphasis on all-American agricultural values and the underdog.

According to USA Today’s Ad Meter, viewers voted their favorite ad of the night to be Budweiser’s traditional Clydesdale spot. The ad, dubbed “First Delivery,” doesn’t focus on the grand, huge horses in their jangling harnesses. Instead, it follows a young colt who is told he isn’t big enough to help pull the wagon just yet. But when a keg falls off, he has a chance to prove himself.

In a similar vein, the second most popular ad was “The Little Farmer” from Lay’s, which follows a young girl doting on a single potato plant on her parent’s farm until the spud is ready to be sent off and fried up into a chip. It’s filled with the same agrarian imagery and emphasis on the care and American-ness that’s being lavished on each salty chip.

Rounding out the top three was “The Ultra Hustle,” featuring American treasure Willem Dafoe and Canadian treasure Catherine O’Hara as a pair of pickleball-playing con artists, using their age to lure opponents into a false sense of security — and ultimately win their Michelob Ultra.

USA Today noted several losers at the bottom of the list, including tech ads (OpenAI ranked 54th out of 58 spots with Meta in 45th; Google managed to skirt controversy over its ad to come in 14th), as well as a particularly off-putting ad from Coffee Mate focusing on tongues. It should be noted that some of the rankings could be chalked up to the game’s blowout status — any brand in the second half of the game likely saw fewer eyeballs than in the first half, part of the risk-reward cycle with live sporting events.

Why it matters: The Ad Meter can give communicators a glimpse into the current mood of the country and what resonates. Currently, simple ads focusing on Americana, made-in-America messaging and the underdog (or horse or potato) are coming out on top. These are classic themes for any Super Bowl, of course, but given the current political climate of the nation, the success of these ads further reinforces a desire to return to a simpler time that feels familiar to many.

Tech’s struggle may indicate the same thing, just in an inverse manner: OpenAI’s ad attempted to connect ChatGPT to the history of humanity, but did it in a dot-matrix style that was devoid of actual people. Similarly, Meta’s ad focused on the problems of the rich and famous (Chris Hemsworth eats a banana featured in an expensive art installation owned by Kris Jenner), which are hard concepts to relate to for people stressed about the price of eggs.

We’ll see how brands continue to extend the life of these ads beyond the Super Bowl itself and into the rest of the year. But for now, homespun messaging comes out on top. Communicators should take note.

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Allison Carter is editorial director of PR Daily and Ragan.com. Follow her on LinkedIn.