For one group of Michigan State University faculty and students, the Super Bowl was on Sunday night, but it wasn't why they were watching television.
Every year faculty and students in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations at MSU get together to watch the Super Bowl ads.
Then they judge which ones are best.
"We look for ads that are creative, that are funny," said Robert Kolt, an advertising instructor.
The surprise winner, said Kolt, was Prius, with an ad in which bank robbers drive the hybrid car.
In a news release, Kolt explained, "It featured an exciting chase with lots of twists and turns. And it included four men in a car not normally driven by men."
A Doritos ad took second place. Honda Ridgeline was in third with a flock of singing sheep, and Audi, Snickers, T-Mobile, avocados, Turbo Tax, Budweiser (with Helen Mirren), Heinz, and Death Wish Coffee filled out the top ten.
Rating the commercials wasn't just fun and games.
Kolt told us rating the ads is a service to the industry because at $5 million per 30-second spot, it's important to know if those investments are paying off.
