Welcome to the latest edition of Marketer's Brief, a quick take on marketing news, moves and trends from Ad Age's reporters and editors. Send tips/suggestions to [email protected]. And to get the latest news as it happens, sign up for Ad Age newsletters here, including CMO Strategy.

Despite the binary outcome of the game itself, Super Bowl advertising is a lot more like the Iowa caucuses, where many can claim to be winners, at least for a while. We, at Marketer’s Brief, were besieged by post-game analyses citing a multitude of winners, some very much at odds with each other.

For example, Kellogg Co. came in next to last (ahead of only Donald Trump) with its Pretzel Pop-Tarts ad in USA Today’s Ad Meter popularity contest. Yet it was the fourth-best brand at gaining market share on Amazon during the game in an analysis by Profitero. 

Avocados from Mexico was way down the list at No. 52 on Ad Meter, yet ranked No. 2 in Merkle’s Digital Bowl post-game analysis of how well brands supported their ads online. Merkle is one of the rankings that is closely watched by Ivonne Kinser, Avocados From Mexico’s head of digital marketing, who was quick to point out that while it didn’t snag the top spot, Avocados From Mexico was the only advertiser to place in the top 10 in all four of Merkle’s channels.

Just to prove that many are winners, let’s toss out all the top Super Bowl honors we can find, which currently number 14 out of a universe of 62 ads. 

Ad Meter: Jeep’s “Groundhog Day” with Bill Murray.
Ace Metrix (most effective): Hyundai’s “Smaht Pahk.”
Ace Metrix (funniest): PepsiCo/Frito-Lay's Cheetos “Can’t Touch This.”
Ace Metrix (most likeable): PepsiCo/Frito-Lay's Doritos Cool Ranch (with Sam Elliott).
Ace Metrix (most empowering): Microsoft's “Be the one.”
Profitero (biggest in-game share gain on Amazon): Coke Energy (with Jonah Hill and Martin Scorsese, which ranked No. 47 on Ad Meter.)
ISpot.tv (digital share of voice): Jeep’s “Groundhog Day” (again).
Merkle (overall digital amplification): Intuit’s TurboTax.
Merkle (social media): Kraft Heinz Planters' Baby Nut.
Merkle (paid search): Three-way tie for Procter & Gamble Co.’s Olay, Kellogg Co.’s Pringles and Squarespace.
TVision (attention paid to TV ad): P&G’s Tide Pods, LaundryLater #FinallyLater (fourth quarter :15 ad).
Talkwater (social media mentions): P&G’s Olay.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud (most mentioned advertisers globally): Donald Trump.
Sprout Social (pre-game social-media sentiment): Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Bud Light Seltzer.

You can watch all the Super Bowl 2020 commercials again right here, or catch Ad Age Editor Brian Braiker's entertaining reviews here.

Pet-friendly

Up-and-coming insurance brand Lemonade—the one T-Mobile took to court for using the color pink—is in expansion mode. The brand, which recently hired its first CMO, will begin offering pet insurance later this year, according to Daniel Schreiber, CEO and co-founder, who noted that customers have requested the offering. Indeed, as younger generations spend more on pets, new brands are increasingly debuting in the category.

Wendy’s new pitchman

Wendy’s is making sure fast-food fans are aware of its pending breakfast launch. It enlisted the help of former McDonald’s head chef Mike Haracz for some of the social media posts, which the chain is ramping up before the menu’s March 2 debut. VMLY&R, Spark Foundry and Ketchum are behind the work, which will include fresh posts each Wednesday morning.

Haracz, who left McDonald’s in 2019, is also sharing the content from his own Twitter account.

Bubbling back

Michael Bublé is back for Bubly. The Canadian crooner—who first popped up in an ad for the PepsiCo-owned sparkling water brand in a 2019 Super Bowl ad—stars in a new spot that shows him spray painting a billboard and replacing the brand’s “y” with an “é.” Direct Focus handled the ad. “Our fans have had such a positive reaction to our partnership with Michael Bublé that continuing the Bubly versus Bublé storyline made complete sense,” says Stacy Taffet, Bubly’s VP of marketing.

Betting on beauty

Vitamin startup Care/of is expanding into beauty with a new skin and hair collection. The line of supplements like collagen and keratin includes powders and creamers to add to your coffee as well as capsules to take on their own. The company has rolled out a personalization quiz for consumers to determine the best products for their skin, hair and nail needs, and, of course, there’s an app for keeping track.

Would you buy this?

Papa John’s Papadias are, essentially, $6 folded pizzas that the chain hopes will boost its lunch business.

Number of the week

$509 million: The current valuation of Casper ahead of the mattress brand’s IPO filing; the new figure represents a more than 50 percent decrease from the retailer’s $1.1 billion private market valuation last year.

Tweet of the week

Comings and goings

Dunkin’ Brands promoted Jill McVicar Nelson to VP of marketing strategy for Dunkin’ U.S. The company has been without a CMO at Dunkin’ U.S. since the departure of Tony Weisman in late 2019. Nelson, who was most recently director of corporate strategy and chief of staff to CEO David Hoffmann, reports into Hoffmann on an interim basis in the new role.

JC Penney tapped Jill Feldman as VP of marketing; she had been VP of marketing and brand strategy at Famous Footwear. The department store also appointed Roger Worak as VP of customer engagement and insights. Worak most recently served as VP of digital engagement at Front Burner Brands Inc.

Marketing changes are afoot at Shopify, which runs operations for a host of direct-to-consumer startups. A spokeswoman confirmed that Chief Marketing Officer Jeff Weiser is no longer with the company; Shopify does not plan to name a replacement. “The rapid pace of change in commerce necessitated adjustments to the marketing function and those changes position Shopify for long-term success,” a spokeswoman for the Ontario-based company said in a statement.

Contributing: Jessica Wohl, Jack Neff, Adrianne Pasquarelli, E.J. Schultz