• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, February 14, 2023

Two words of advice for brands already planning next year’s Super Bowl commercials: Animals rule. Jeep’s infectious “Electric Boogie,” led by a goat with rhythm and backed up by an entire menagerie, is ranked the most likable by iSpot.tv.  “Forever,” the Farmer’s Dog saga of a lab named Bear, from puppy to senior citizen, came in first at USA Today’s Ad Meter. The sweet spot for the D2C brand also came in fourth at iSpot, and NPR gave it the best “I’m not crying, you’re crying” award.

Dogs are favorites, with “Sawyer,” Amazon’s misbehaving pandemic puppy, ranking No. 2 at iSpot and third at AdMeter. And the entirely human Snoop Dogg star turn for Skechers won some hearts, thanks to Martha Stewart, Tony Romo and a glamorous poodle. It came in fifth at iSpot.

After dogs, the night’s big winners include just about any funny celebrity. Four of Ad Meter’s Top 10 winners relied on famous faces, including Dunkin' Drive-Thru, starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez; Pop Corners Breaking Bad, starring “Breaking Bad” characters Walter White, Jesse Pinkman and Tuco Salamanca; T-Mobile’s “New Year, new Neighbor,” with John Travolta; and Workday’s "Rockstar," starring Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Clark Jr., Joan Jett, Billy Idol and Paul Stanley.

At iSpot, the winners include Disney’s 100^th birthday tribute, with T-Mobile, Pop Corners, Dunkin, and the trailer for the Flash all landing in the Top 10.

The losers, according to Ad Meter? U2/UV "Achtung Baby"; TEMU’s “Shop Like A Billionaire”; M&M’s Super Bowl spot touting the candy-covered clam bites; Remy Martin’s “Inch by Inch,” starting Serena Williams; and DoorDash’s “We Get Groceries.”

But there’s no shortage of diverging opinions. NPR named the Maya Rudolph/M&M gag “the best culture war head fake.”

Fox is also taking a victory lap, saying Super Bowl 57 drew 113 million viewers, a six-year-high, which translates to a 40/77 household rating/share.

Rihanna’s halftime show drew 118.7 million views, making it the third-most watched halftime event ever. And 182.6 million viewers watched either all or part of the game.