• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, February 3, 2014

Well, it wasn’t exactly the most riveting Super Bowl in history, but at least the lights stayed on, right? Now, with the Seahawks still picking clumps of Bronco hide out of their cleats, social media analytics firms are rounding up the biggest moments (and of course, best ads) of Super Bowl XLVIII.
 
Overal, 50 million people shared their sentiments about the game on Facebook, generating 185 million interactions, according to the company. Twitter reported a total 24.9 million tweets, up 3.3% from 24.1 million during Super Bowl XLVII.

According to both platforms, the most discussed moments were Percy Harvin’s 87-yard kickoff return and touchdown, which generated 381,605 tweets per minute. Next up, again on both networks, was Jermaine Kearse catching a 23-yard touchdown pass, at 271,775 tweets per minute. Other big moments were Malcolm Smith’s interception of Peyton Manning and 69-yard return for a touchdown; the Broncos’ sole touchdown, courtesy of Demaryius Thomas; the halftime show; and the final whistle, putting the Broncos (and us) out of our collective misery.
 
Turning to the ads, analytics firm Networked Insights ranks Masarati (with Quvenzhané Wallis), H&M (David Beckham in his skivvies), and Beats Music (Ellen DeGeneres) as the audience favorites, as measured by the balance of sentiment in posts about them.

However, they weren’t the most discussed. The most talked-about ad was eSurance, with 539,610 social conversations, followed by T-mobile with 309,780 and H&M with 273,760. Further down the totem pole, were Budweiser, Doritos, Coca-Cola and Bud Light. GoDaddy’s slightly disturbing ad, featuring muscly mountains of spandex and Danica Patrick at perhaps her least attractive, wasn’t even in the top 10.
 
Listen First crowned a different winner, giving Budweiser the top spot when YouTube and Instagram are taken into account. According to Listen First, Budweiser won the game with its two 60-second spots with hashtags #bestbuds and #saluteahero, garnering 588,907 mentions, compared to 310,978 mentions for Coca-Cola’s two 60-second spots. Budweiser was also able to drive more online viewers to its TV spots on YouTube than any other brand, with 44.3 million views at last count.