• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, February 7, 2011

When it comes to commercials, a wee Darth Vader seems to be walking away with the Super Bowl trophy, at least according to early buzz.

"Right now, the Darth Vader spot is leading the voting on AdBowl," Steve McKee, president of McKee Wallwork Cleveland in Albuquerque, and founder of the AdBowl, tells Marketing Daily . "It's a rare example of a commercial that is charming and thoughtful--it's a really human spot, and people are responding to that."

VW's Black Betty spot, featuring a revved-up insect, is also coming on strong. And Chrysler, too, with its long Eminem spot celebrating Detroit's ups and downs, "really stole Chevy's thunder. Those two companies are leading in the car wars."

USAToday's Ad Meter, which tracks second-by-second reactions from a panel of viewers, has a tie for first place: A Bud Light ad, with a bunch of smart dogs catering a party, is in a dead heat with Dorito's door-crashing pug. In that ranking, VW's Darth Vader spot came in third.

BrandBowl, which ranks ads on a combination of Tweets and whether it generated positive or negative sentiments, is ranking the Chrysler Eminem spot in first place, followed by VW's Darth Vader, and then Doritos.