The Winner of the Pre-Super Bowl Online Ad War Is... Not Even a Super Bowl Advertiser

A online video campaign for Ritz crackers that doesn't even mention the Super Bowl has accumulated more views than any other effort so far, topping those by actual Super Bowl advertisers. Ritz's "Big Game Snacks" campaign piled up more then 29 million views by the end of the day Thursday, according to Visible Measures, more than videos related to actual Super Bowl buys. Almost the entire rest of the top 10 list does belong to Super Bowl advertisers, lead by Wix.com, whose "Kung Fu Panda 3" tie-in ad was released on Feb. 3 but preceded by online teases that count toward its total here. No. 3 on the list is Doritos, whose final year of the "Crash the Super Bowl" contest pulls millions of people to view and vote on finalists. But No. 6 Sam's Club, not a Super Bowl advertiser, has also found a way to attach itself to the event. These aren't necessarily organic, consumer-initiated views, of course. This chart counts videos that play as advertising as well.

The Winner of the Pre-Super Bowl Online Ad War Is... Not Even a Super Bowl Advertiser

Featured Stories