Top 5 Funniest Ads From Super Bowl LIII
The 2019 Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and the LA Rams — the lowest-scoring Super Bowl match of all time — may not have provided too much entertainment, but at least the ads gave viewers something to smile about.
According to our data taken from the past four Super Bowls, audiences found ads from the Super Bowl 2019 the funniest in recent history, with 11% of viewers laughing at the commercials compared to the Super Bowl average of 4%.
But which ads from the 2019 Super Bowl were the funniest? Well, using data from our content testing tool UnrulyEQ, here are the top 5:
=5 – Food Porn – Devour (16% Hilarity)
This ad begins with a woman talking about her boyfriend who is addicted to “food porn”. She continues to describe a series of double entendres in the least subtle way.
How did it perform?
Although this ad scored highly for Hilarity, interestingly, it scored below average across all of our brand metrics: 28% for purchase intent v the US norm of 39; and 24% for shareability v US norm of 34%. The low shareability score is most likely due to viewers finding the ad explicit, and, although finding it funny, they possibly weren’t comfortable sharing it due to the embarrassing nature of the content.
=5 – Top Dog – AFM (16% Hilarity)
Avocados From Mexico released this ad during the second half of last year’s game. It’s set during a dog show and features actress Kristin Chenoweth as a judge. Instead of the dogs competing for the grand prize of avocado dishes, it’s their carefully groomed dog-like owners who battle it out for the prize.
How did it perform?
The ad has a loose connection to avocados, and this possibly explains why its brand recall is so low at just 27%. However, the playful tone and surprising aspect of the ad evoked a mixture of positive emotions in viewers, resulting in the rest of the brand metrics scoring above average, with 44% for purchase intent v the US norm of 39% US norm; and 41% for shareability v the US norm of 34%.
4 – More Than OK – Pepsi (18% Hilarity)
Pepsi starts this spot with the actor, Steve Carell, explaining to a waiter at an American diner that Pepsi is more than ‘OK’. The ad also features artists Lil Jon and Cardi B, who walks in reciting her famous catchphrase, “OKURRR”, along with her song “I Like It” playing in the background.
How did it perform?
The ad scored a huge 89% for Brand Recall, which is most likely down to the brand being mentioned a number of times and featuring a Pepsi can throughout. The ad also scored highly for purchase intent — 49% v the US norm of 39%. However, it scored below the US norm for Find Out More (33% v 39%), most likely due to the ad having no clear CTA and Pepsi being a very well-known brand.
=2 – Bad Passengers – M&Ms (23% Hilarity)
In this ad actress Christina Applegate is seen driving while trying to break up an argument between what sounds like kids fighting in the backseat. During the last 10 seconds of the spot, Applegate hits the brakes and it’s revealed she is driving a chocolate bar containing several fighting M&M’s, not kids!
How did it perform?
This ad used a combination of positive emotions, including Hilarity, Happiness, Amazement, Warmth and Inspiration, to score some really impressive brand metrics. The ad scored above the US norm for all key metrics, including a huge 66% for Purchase Intent versus the US norm of 39% and 44% for Shareability (34% US norm).
=2 – Makes The Cut – Amazon Alexa (23% Hilarity)
One of our favourite spots from last year features a number of A-List celebrities, including Harrison Ford, Forest Whitaker and Nasa twins Mark and Scott Kelly. It opens with an Amazon employee asking Alexa to heat up her pasta in the microwave. This spurs a conversation around Alexa ideas that have failed spectacularly.
How did it perform?
This ad scored highly for Find Out More (49% v a US norm of 39%). This is most likely due to viewers realising that Alexa can do more than they realised after seeing all the sketches that play out its ‘failed’ experiments. It also scored highly for Purchase Intent (46% v the US norm of 39%). This could be down to Amazon cleverly pushing the message that Alexa is used by lots of high-end celebrities, leveraging it as a premium and highly-sought-after product.
1 – 100-Year Game – NFL (25% Hilarity)
Perhaps the most relevant Super Bowl ad on this list, it features a variety of the all-time greatest NFL athletes attending the 100th Season Gala. What starts out as an elegant black-tie event quickly descends into chaos when athlete Marshawn Lynch tries to sneak a taste of the cake and the golden football on top falls off. Once it hits the ground, it becomes a scramble for the ball. The camera pans over to the most recognizable faces of the NFL, eventually landing in the hands of Sam Gordon, a teen American football player who won fame through playing against all-male teams.
How did it perform?
Not only did this ad score the highest for Hilarity out of all of 2019’s Super Bowl ads, but it also scored the highest for Happiness. This winning combination, along with strong levels of Surprise and Amazement, resulted in extremely high key metrics, including 50% Purchase Intent v the US norm of 39%, 53% for Find Out More compared to the US norm of 39%, and 54% for Shareability v the US norm of 34%.
We will be running the biggest ads of this year’s Super Bowl LIV through our emotional targeting and testing tool UnrulyEQ to see which ones come out on top. Sign up here to receive our Super Bowl LIV insights right in your inbox.
