Minerva decided to try something new and host C&IS’s first ever AdBowl this year. We invited students from all over the college to join us for a Super Bowl commercial watch party. We rated, discussed, and voted on our favorites.

Our key take-aways:

  • If the concept doesn’t work without the celebrity, it’s lazy borrowed interest.
  • Anheuser-Busch releasing its 33 year stranglehold is a good thing for the advertising industry and the audience.
  • Making something funny is really difficult to pull off. Making something almost funny seems to be much more achievable.
  • Want to try and tug on heartstrings? Use a dog. No cats.

The results:

Students and faculty watched them all. There was some swooning (Miles Teller). There were a few “awws” here and there. And yes, there was some booing. But in the end, the votes were tallied. And, the top 3 spots from the inaugural AdBowl, presented by Minerva, audience are…

In third place…

In second place…

And in first place…