USA TODAY Reveals Best Super Bowl Commercial of All Time

Ad Meter 30th Anniversary Bracket, presented by Kia, crowned Budweiser's "Puppy Love" as the top commercial of the last three decades

USA TODAY, part of Gannett Co., Inc. GCI, closed out its Ad Meter 30th Anniversary Bracket presented by Kia, where its audience named Budweiser's "Puppy Love" the best Super Bowl commercial of all time. The competition celebrated three decades of USA TODAY's Super Bowl Ad Meter competition, the foremost tracker of public opinion on the game's ads.

USA TODAY let fans pick their favorite Super Bowl ad of the last three decades by voting in the anniversary bracket at admeter30.usatoday.com. The 32 commercials in the competition included the 30 winners from the past 29 years of Ad Meter (two tied for the top prize in 2011), as well as the two highest-rated second place finishers. At the end of five rounds of voting and over 100,000 votes cast, the following were voted as the final four Super Bowl commercials of all time:

• Budweiser: 2008, "Dalmatian Trains Clydesdale," 8.73
• Budweiser: 2013, "Horse and Trainer Reunited," 7.76
• Budweiser: 2014, "Puppy Love," 8.29
• Budweiser: 2015, "Lost Dog," 8.10

"Consumers and advertisers have turned to Ad Meter since 1989 to gauge which Super Bowl commercials resonate best with consumers," said Andy Yost, chief marketing officer, Gannett | USA TODAY NETWORK. "We enjoyed giving fans the chance to judge the best-of-the-best in commemoration of this popular competition."

Additionally, USA TODAY also launched its 30th annual Ad Meter competition, presented by Kia and sponsored by Sprint, to rank this year's Super Bowl commercials. Voting officially opened on January 31, enabling viewers to rate ads that have already been released by brands and will close on February 5 at 1 AM ET. U.S. citizens, 18 years of age or older, are eligible to register as panelists at admeter.usatoday.com. Panelists must rate every ad on a scale of one -10 for their vote to count.

"We are thrilled to sponsor this year's Ad Meter after receiving the highest recognition in the competition in 2017," said Saad Chehab, vice president, marketing communications, Kia Motors America. "Winning Ad Meter and being named the best Super Bowl ad by USA TODAY's audience is an incredible accomplishment for ad creators, comparable to winning the Super Bowl. We at Kia congratulate Budweiser's "Puppy Love" for being named the Best Super Bowl Ad of the Ad Meter era."

"Throughout its 30-year history, Ad Meter has solidified its spot as the gold standard for determining the best Super Bowl ad year after year," said Roger Solé, chief marketing officer, Sprint. "All of us at Sprint are proud to sponsor the 2018 Ad Meter, and look forward to another year of fierce competition and inspiring creative work."

Additionally, USA TODAY and Ad Age, the leading global source of news for marketing and media communities, will continue with an editorial partnership that will feature content around this year's creativity in Super Bowl advertising.

The winners of the 2018 Super Bowl Ad Meter will be announced on the morning of Monday, February 5. All of the Super Bowl ads, as well as complete results and analysis, can be seen at admeter.usatoday.com.

About USA TODAY

Founded in 1982, USA TODAY reflects the pulse of the nation, serving as host of the American conversation by delivering high-quality, engaging content through unique visual storytelling across all platforms. A media innovator, USA TODAY reaches nearly 80 million unique visitors each month across digital platforms, with more than 24 million downloads of our award-winning app. USA TODAY also remains the nation's number one newspaper and is owned by Gannett Co., Inc. GCI.

About Kia Motors America

Headquartered in Irvine, California, Kia Motors America continues to top quality surveys and is recognized as one of the 100 Best Global Brands and 50 Best Global Green Brands by Interbrand. Kia serves as the "Official Automotive Partner" of the NBA and LPGA and offers a complete range of vehicles sold through a network of nearly 800 dealers in the U.S., including cars and SUVs proudly built in West Point, Georgia.*

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* The Sorento and Optima GDI (EX, SX & Limited and certain LX Trims only) are assembled in the United States from U.S. and globally sourced parts.

About Sprint

Sprint S is a communications services company that creates more and better ways to connect its customers to the things they care about most. Sprint served 54 million connections as of Sept. 30, 2017, and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; leading no-contract brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.

About Ad Age

Ad Age is a daily must-read for an influential audience of decision makers and disruptors across the marketing and media landscape. Created in 1930 to cover a burgeoning industry with objectivity, accuracy, and fairness, Ad Age continues to be powered by award-winning journalism. Today, Ad Age is a global media brand focusing on curated creativity, data and analysis, people and culture, and innovation and forecasting.

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