Online views of Super Bowl ads and all the related run-up jumped 51 percent over 2014, said iSpot.TV, the ad tracker following all the ads for NBC and others. And the “social actions” surrounding those commercials on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are up even more, 63 percent to 4.6 million likes, shares, comments, etc.
The big change, iSpot.TV says, is heavy use of Facebook’s recently launched native video player. Given the 1.1 billion people on Facebook, it’s little surprise the big boost here, though the extra views appear to be additive, rather than cannibalizing from other sources.
It’s safe to say the week ahead of the game is becoming as important to big companies as running a pricey and potentially viral ad during the game itself.
The biggest winner was Budweiser’s Lost Dog, which was viewed 41.8 million times before the game started. That’s up big from the beer company’s animal ad last year, an increase of 10 million views. Here’s iSpot.TV’s list of the week’s winning ads, ranked by their earned views (those above the base number of followers of their social-media platforms), and showing their total views online as well.
Winning ads by Total Views and Earned Views
| Budweiser | Lost Dog | 41875883 | 2063694 |
| T-Mobile | Kim’s Data Stash | 13398936 | 95365 |
| Bud Light | Up for Whatever: Real Life PacMan | 13197462 | 172616 |
| Universal Pictures | Minions Super Bowl 2015 Teaser | 9385305 | 492092 |
| Paramount Pictures | Terminator Genisys Super Bowl 2015 | 6894697 | 267184 |
| Carl’s Jr. | Au Naturel | 6441471 | 57755 |
| BMW | Newfangled Idea | 6160634 | 31617 |
| Snickers | The Brady Bunch | 5087552 | 125618 |
| Budweiser | Clydesdale Beer Run | 4281833 | 149494 |
| Joyful Heart Foundation | 911 Delivery | 4052052 | 94039 |
| Snickers | The Brady Bunch | 3740294 | 50778 |
| Old Spice | Nightmare Face | 3421038 | 51010 |
| Pepsi | Hyped for Halftime: Cutest Halftime Show Ever! | 3324249 | 56794 |
| Newcastle Brown Ale | Aubrey Plaza Prepares You for Band of Brands | 3194309 | 26944 |
| Toyota | How Great I Am | 2949320 | 19209 |
| Mercedes-Benz | Fable | 2628576 | 22166 |
| Nissan | Dude Perfect: Dad Edition | 2546698 | 47830 |
| Toyota | Amy Purdy and Her Bold Dad | 2373045 | 35540 |
| Pepsi | Hyped for Halftime: Oh Holy Hype | 2232810 | 17199 |
| Victoria’s Secret | Angels Play Football | 2119532 | 97495 |
Brands by earned views
| brand | earned_views |
| Budweiser | 46297628 |
| T-Mobile | 13776948 |
| Bud Light | 13345629 |
| Pepsi | 9439496 |
| Universal Pictures | 9385305 |
| Snickers | 8827846 |
| Paramount Pictures | 7212294 |
| Carl’s Jr. | 6564371 |
| BMW | 6160634 |
| Newcastle Brown Ale | 5477756 |
| Toyota | 5322365 |
| Nissan | 4133150 |
| Joyful Heart Foundation | 4052052 |
| Wix.com | 3879908 |
| Doritos | 3781412 |
| Old Spice | 3421038 |
| Victoria’s Secret | 3403373 |
| McDonald’s | 3280476 |
| Mercedes-Benz | 3011606 |
