2023 Super Bowl: The Top Ads For Viewer Attention

For some of us, the ads are as much of a reason to watch the Super Bowl as the game itself.  It looks like this year was no exception - as expected we saw Super Bowl ads perform significantly above the norm for viewer engagement. But amongst this lineup of truly great ad creative, what actually stood out for viewers? 

At TVision, we measure how much eyes-on-screen attention each ad captures. We passively observe the viewing behavior of our panelists, to provide a real-world look at who is paying attention, to what content, and for how long. 

In this analysis, we've ranked 2023's Super Bowl ads by two key indicators of viewer engagement: Creative Break Through & Attention. Congratulations to all the brands featured on these lists, your hard work this year really paid off!

TVision's Creative Breakthrough compares an ad's performance against other ads that ran in the same ad pod. Advertisers can use this information, to identify breakthrough ads.  Our Creative Breakthrough uses an index, so the average performance is 100.  If an ad scores above 100 during the Super Bowl, that means it draws more attention than its neighboring Super Bowl ads and is truly a compelling piece of creative. 

This first list includes the top 25 ads ranked by Creative Breakthrough. 

M&M's ad featuring Maya Rudolph captured viewer attention by building on the buzz of her new role as a brand spokesperson and earning laughs with the introduction of Ma&Ya's candy-coated clams.  Skechers also ranked with their ad featuring Snoop Dog, which rewarded viewer attention with a surprise cameo by Snoop Dog's pal, Martha Stewart. Notably, the Skechers ad also was one of our highest-ranked ads for viewer attention (see the second list below). 

In this next list, we are highlighting the 5 ads that earned an astounding +50% Attention. TVison's Attention metric tracks what percentage of viewers maintained eyes-on-screen attention for at least 2 seconds. The average Attention for Linear ads is 35.8% and 34.1% for CTV ads. With the Super Bowl billed as the highest-rated TV event of the year, making sure your ads engage that audience is critical.  These ads all did an astounding job, earning attention from more than half of viewers who were in the room when the ads were aired. 

Notably, the NFL's "Run With It," topped the list with a feel-good ad dedicated to women footballers which was full of celebrity male athletes who try to earn a tackle by stealing the flags of the elusive Diana Flores.