All eyes were on the biggest football game of the year, as the Michigan State University's Department of Advertising and Public Relations faculty members and staff gathered for their 20th Super Bowl Sunday Ad Party.
The event was hosted at the Spartan Hall of Fame Cafe, 1601 W. Lake Lansing Road, East Lansing.
Super Bowl 51
It's our biggest night ... we have the best stuff on," says Robert Kolt, Professor in the College of Advertising and Public Relations at MSU.
But for some members of MSU's College of Advertising and Public Relations , their eyes were on the ads.
"This is a laboratory test to see what the best ads are," says Prabu David, Dean of the College of Communications at MSU.
Faculty members and staff rated the advertisements on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest rating and 1 being the lowest rating.
This year Kolt says the Super Bowl ads have a lot of political undertones.
"You know we typically see that in every Super Bowl," he said.
Another MSU faculty member, Professor Jeff Richards, says the ad with Arnold Schwarzenegger is bound to get some attention because of the recent tweets between the President and Mr. Schwarzenegger.
The most talked about commercial was from Budweiser which tells the story of the company's German founder who came to St.Louis back in the mid-1800s.
Faculty members say the political message was not intentional since advertisements typically take months to produce .
"I am sure when Budweiser produced they add ...they had no idea an Executive order would be signed,"said Jeff Richards, Department Chairman and Professor in the College of Advertising and Public Relations at MSU.
Political or not these commercials are a staple in one of the most watched sporting events in the country.
Super Bowl Commercial Ratings:
1) Honda
2) T-Mobile
3) Ford
4) Skittles
5) Avocados from Mexico
6) Audi
7) Coca-Cola
8) Bai
9) Kia Niro
The MSU faculty also ranked ads on the following categories:
1) Brand Strategy - Aflac, Ford, Audi, Buick
2) Production Quality - Lexus, Weathertec
3) Socially Responsible- Air B&B, Audi, Anheuser-Busch
4) Creativity - Honda Cr-V, Turbo Tax, Lifewater
5) Most Likely to Make a Sale : None
6) Super Bowl Ad with the Greatest " Cringe" Factor : T-Mobile, Mr. Clean
