Molson Coors Calls Its Super Bowl Ad a Winner
Molson Coors Beverage Co. wasted little time letting the world know its first Super Bowl ad in more than 30 years emerged a winner:
- Ranked as the top beer commercial by Ad Age and Adweek (the only beer brand in Adweek’s top 10)
- Earned near-perfect 4.5/5 by Ad Age, highest among beer ads
- The top ad overall, according to Axios
- A top 5 ad, according to Adweek, CBS, the Washington Post and VinePair
- A top ad, according to NPR’s “Pop Culture Happy Hour” podcast
Here’s what the pundits had to say:
CBS: “This is one of the few commercials that teased something fun weeks before the game and actually delivered.”
Chicago Tribune: “A high-stakes beer ad triumphs … somehow the big reveal got the laugh it needed, and the commercial served as a micro-action-comedy unto itself.”
Forbes: An “epic Super Bowl surprise.”
Beer Business Daily: “Arguably nobody got more bang for the buck than Molson Coors”
Adweek: “A killer return to the Big Game for Molson Coors” and “A high-octane spot (with) a winning twist…one of the most effective ads of the night.”
Ad Age: “Blue Moon hijacking the ad at the end – frankly it’s perfect. This is one of the more impressive campaigns of this Super Bowl season.”
The ad got people talking online, as well: Blue Moon immediately became a top-15 trending topic on Twitter, with consumers cheering the return of Molson Coors and three of its top brands to the Super Bowl.
But No. 16 on USA Today's Ad Meter
You'll notice who Molson Coors isn't quoting – USA Today's Ad Meter. That's because The Farmer's Dog ranked No. 1 "in a Super Bowl commercial field overloaded with celebrity pitchmen." Bud Light's "Hold" tied for No.5 with Pop Corners' Breaking Good, behind spots for NFL, Amazon and Dunkin.
In fact, Molson Coors' "High Stakes Beer Ad" for Miller Lite and Coors Lite ranked No. 16, but ahead of "The Busch Guide" for Busch beer, or No. 28, Michelob Ultra's "New Members Day; " No. 28, Crown Royal's "Thank You Canada;" No. 38, Heineken 0.0 and Marvel, "Ant-Man and The Wasp," Michelob Ultra's "Full Swing Gossip," or No. 48, Remy Martin's "Inch by Inch."
Why Ad Meter Matters
Unlike the other rankings, USA Today's Ad Meter uses a panel of hundreds of thousands (maybe millions) of consumers who rank all national commercial. The other rankings – be they Axios, Beer Business Daily, VinePair, Washington Post – are simply reviews with one person's opinion, or, at best several people's opinion.
Beauty, as they say, is in the eye of the beholder, and which Super Bowl ad is the best is also in the eye of the beholder. Molson Coors is entitled to boast that its Super Bowl ad "emerged as one of the top-ranked of the game." But so is Anheuser-Busch InBev for the performance of its Bud Light spot in the Ad Meter ranking and also in the CBS ranking. Most of the other bev/al brands could also make the same claim about at least one of their brands,