Another possibly Super Bowl has come and gone. The game was ugly early on and I feared a blowout. Yet many around me didn’t seem to mind, due to an overabundance of Steelers haterade. But Pittsburgh regrouped at the half and made it competitive, failing pull ahead of the Packers on the final drive. We solute Green Bay’s championship, although we continue to be amazed that such a small market manages to field a team in this media dominated environment.

Speaking of media, the Super Bowl has become a family event due to the big spend advertising – an entertainment spectacle, beyond football, in its own right. And, for the second year in a row, my favorite spot was a light hearted car commercial. While I bestowed top honors upon Kia in 2010, 2011 belongs to Volkswagen. And, as with Kia last year, a large part of of VW’s success is due to picking the right soundtrack. “Black Beetle” (above) features a cover of Ram Jam’s Black Betty… although, surprisingly, doesn’t actually feature the 2012 Volkswagen Beetle it advertises. My honorable mention awards go to VW (again) for the well done Young Vader spot (aka “The Force”) and Best Buy’s “Bieber & Ozzy” 6G pre-announcement from the future.

Regarding the $800 Motorola Xoom Android tablet narrative… well, it’s obviously been done before. And better. Wether this was an Apple homage, attack, or both, I wasn’t overly impressed. Yeah, we’ve become an iWorld and no longer Think Different. But this ad didn’t resonate in our group.

Lastly, even though I found their commercials to be mostly silly, Pepsi Max stuck in my head (given my love for Coke Zero) and is a product I intend to track down. And, boy, did the movie previews not get my juices flowing.

TiVo has once again crunched the numbers, from 37,000 DVRs, to declare their top ten ads of Super Bowl 45:

This information was prepared using aggregated, anonymous, second-by-second audience measurement data about how TiVo subscribers watched the game, and was determined by not just the most viewed commercials, but also the most engaging ads throughout the game. The most engaging ads are determined by looking for spots with the biggest bump in viewership relative to the surrounding 15 minutes of programming, offering a true reflection of change in viewership.

1. Snickers   “Logging”
2. Best Buy   “Bieber and Ozzy”
3. Pepsi Max    “Love Hurts”
4. Volkswagen Passat  “The Force”
5. Doritos   “The Best Part”
6. Teleflora    “Help me Faith”
7. Doritos   “House Sitting”
8. E*Trade   “Tailor”
9. Cruze Eco  “Misunderstanding”
10. Bridgestone  “Carma”

If you missed any of the commercials, or just want to catch them again, hit Hulu, Fanhouse, or YouTube. What were your favorites?

Click to enlarge.

In an effort to drum up business for their commercial Stop||Watch audience measurement services, TiVo has launched a free web widget that compares the relative effectiveness of television brand advertising. I’d originally intended to pass on this bit of “news” as it’s not really directed at us gadget-loving consumers and I wonder if TiVo’s sample is differentiated enough to be of value.

But MethodicJon produced the interesting comparison above that motivated me to fire up the editor. TiVo indicates that DISH Network (their enemy) is outperforming DirecTV (their ally) in audience retention, while their own national television advertising campaign failed to register for whatever reasons – maybe date, scope, or region?