• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, February 16, 2012

Doritos, Chevrolet, Bud Light and Budweiser have seen the largest boost in buzz/positive consumer perceptions from their Super Bowl ads in the days since the game, reports YouGov’s BrandIndex.

As of Feb. 13, Doritos is showing the largest gain: Its Buzz score is up by 11.5 points, to 34.3 (from an average score of 22.8 for the Jan. 1-Jan. 21 baseline period that was used by BrandIndex).

Also, Doritos leads in gains among both men and parents, who clearly saw the humor in its “Slingshot Baby” ad.  Women as a group have been somewhat less amused: Within this segment, Doritos ranks 7th in Buzz gains.

BrandIndex’s Buzz score, measured daily, asks a representative sample of the U.S. population: “If you’ve heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word-of-mouth, was it positive or negative?” Scores range from 100 to -100 and are compiled by subtracting negative feedback from positive. A zero score means equal positive and negative feedback.

Close behind Doritos for overall buzz gains as of Feb. 13, at #2, is Chevrolet, with its apocalypse-themed Silverado ad. Chevrolet has gained 9 points over its January baseline score, for a score of 23.5.

Buzz for Bud Light and Budweiser has surged over the past week, making them the #3 and #4 buzz gainers. One day after the game, Bud Light was #8, and Budweiser was not among the top 10 gainers. Now, however, both brands are showing 8.5-point gains over their January baseline scores, with Bud Light now showing a Buzz score of 23 and Budweiser a score of 24.1.

Hyundai and Pepsi MAX rank #5 and #6, with gains of 6 and 5.9 points since the January baseline period (to scores of 21.7 and 8.0,, respectively).  Both increased their scores immediately post-game and continue to score well a week later.

Bridgestone, now #7 (up 5.8 points to 15.4), worked its way into the top 10 during the week following the game. Kia and Toyota rank #8 and #9, with a 5.6-point gain for the former (to a score of 15.4) and a 4.9-point gain for the latter (to 23.7) since the January baseline period.

E*TRADE, which also made the top 10 gainers list in the week following the game, is now showing a gain of 4.9 points since the baseline period, for a Buzz score of 14.1.

Seven of the ads that that were among the top 10 gainers in pre-game days (Jan. 22-Feb. 2) fell off that list in the week following the game. The pre-game leaders, in order, were: Volkswagen, General Motors, Acura, Audi, Doritos, GoDaddy.com, Kia, Hyundai, Lexus and Samsung. YouGov notes, for example, that pre-game #3 gainer Acura, which released its Jerry Seinfield/Jay Leno spot online prior to the game, fell to #26 in the week after the game.

Similarly, most of the buzz-gain leaders as of one day after the game (Feb. 7) lost or gained momentum in the week that followed. (For instance, Doritos and Toyota switched places.) The top 10 gainers as of Feb. 7, in order, were:  Toyota, Hyundai, M&M’s, Pepsi MAX, Acura, Kia, Volkswagen, Bud Light, Doritos and Honda.

Chrysler’s Clint Eastwood “Half-Time in America” ad (which was embraced by Democrats and hated by Republicans, according to MarketWatch), didn’t make any of the top 10 buzz-gainers lists.

Looking at Buzz-gain leaders among audience segments as of Feb. 13:

• Among men, Doritos is followed by Chevrolet, Pepsi Max, Budweiser, Bud Light, Hyundai, Bridgestone, Kia, Volkswagen and Cars.com.

• Among women, M&M’s leads, followed by Budweiser, Bud Light, Toyota, Chevrolet, E*Trade, Doritos, Best Buy, Kia and Hyundai.

• Among parents, Doritos is followed by E*Trade, GoDaddy.com, Cars.com, MetLife, GE, Pepsi Max, M&M’s, Bridgestone and Volkswagen.

Charts and more commentary are available on the YouGov BrandIndex site.