Super Bowl ads: Budweiser Clydesdale, Joe Montana Tide commercials rank among Ad Meter top picks

CINCINNATI - The Super Bowl is as popular for the game as it is for its commercials and this year’s selection was no disappointment with ads that ranged from the comical to the sentimental.

This year, Budweiser’s commercial featuring a Clydesdale horse and its owner pulled at the heart strings of millions, giving it the No. 1 ranking in USA Today’s Ad Meter .

The Ad Meter, which celebrated its 25th year, ranks the commercials based on votes from more than 7,600 panelists. The voters give each ad a score from 1-10 and then the scores are averaged and ranked.

The 60-second Anheuser-Busch ad called “Brotherhood” shows a heart-tugging bond between a trainer and the Budweiser Clydesdale he raised.

To watch the full ad, click on the video player below. (Note to mobile and tablet users: Open story in a browser to watch video.)

Coming in at a close second in the Ad Meter was Procter & Gamble’s 60-second Tide commercial. Its ad showed a fan donning a salsa stain resembling football legend Joe Montana. The miracle stain gains attention and worship until the fan’s wife — a Baltimore Ravens fan — washes the stain out with Tide.

To watch the Tide ad, click on the video player below. (Note to mobile and tablet users: Open story in a browser to watch video.)

To see the rest of the best and worst ads according to the Ad Meter, go to http://admeter.usatoday.com/articles/view/the-results.

What was your favorite commercial? Tell us in the comment section below, or sound off on our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/WCPO9 .