Streaking naked sheep

...was this year's most popular Super Bowl ad, according to a survey conducted by The Miami Herald, which revealed that several of the Budweiser ads scored big with Bowl viewers. If I may channel Dave Barry for a moment, I should also point out that "Streaking Naked Sheep" would be a great name for a rock & roll band.

Studies also indicated the much-publicized "GoDaddy" ad featuring a well-endowed actress with a malfunctioning tank top was a, ahem, "bust" with the audience, ranking only #38 in the top-rated game ads. The video became the subject of controversy when various takes of the commercial were rejected 13 times by ABC before the 14th was approved.

The Business section of the New York Times has color commentary and analysis of the ad-fest, dissecting what it feels were the best and worst of the lot. The commercials are such a hot topic that they even have their own exclusive web site, superbowl-ads.com, for those who might wish to explore the nuts-and-bolts of the sophisticated marketing and research that goes into producing them. Advertisers pay up to $2.5 million dollars for a 30-second Superbowl spot, making the ads some of the most anticipated and entertaining commercials of the year. Not everyone had positive feelings about them, however; The Washington Post felt many were excessively cartoonish and violent (like the Pepsi ad in which a can of competitor Diet Coke was crushed), and Chris Ballard writing for Sports Illustrated called it "another disappointing year".

Still, you can vote for your favorite ad in the Herald's survey here, or check out the USA Today site, where you can not only register your vote but watch all of the ads in case you might have missed any of them.

Unfortunately, the networks have an annoying habit of interrupting the annual sell-a-thon with something called "football". Rumor has it that this year's game was won by a team named "The Pittsburgh Steelers", but no one outside of Pennsylvania really seemed to notice or care.