The Most Loved And Hated Super Bowl LII Commercials: Pepsi Steals The Show, Diet Coke Falls Flat

A new generation?

Pepsi PEP stole the show with its 2018 Super Bowl commercials as its brands Doritos, Pepsi, and Mountain Dew each delighted viewers and generated massive amounts of positive chatter. The company’s brands captured three of the top four spots in LikeFolio consumer buzz, and Doritos and Mountain Dew took the No. 1 and No. 2 slot for consumer sentiment, according to LikeFolio analysis of social media mentions.

LikeFolio uses data gathered from social media to measure trends and shifts in consumer behavior as well as consumer reaction to marketing campaigns. Each year, the company zooms in on consumer reaction to the brands that advertise during the Super Bowl and publishes its lists of advertising’s winners and losers from the biggest day in marketing.

The Philadelphia Eagles beat the New England Patriots 41-33 in Super Bowl LII, the first Super Bowl title ever for the Eagles franchise.

Coke Falls Flat

While Pepsi’s commercials were loved in 2018, Coca-Cola’s KO ads actually turned out to be the most hated. In fact, its commercial for Diet Coke turned in the lowest Super Bowl ad sentiment we've ever measured at an absolutely dismal 33 percent positive. This is especially striking considering Coca-Cola was the 2017 Super Bowl ad winner with the rerun of its “America the Beautiful” ad.

Anheuser Busch Inbev BUD's Budweiser had a mixed night. Its touching “Stand By Me” ad was well received, and viewers enjoyed the Michelob Ultra “I Like Beer” song, grabbing the No. 4 position in consumer sentiment. Unfortunately, half of viewers truly disliked the Bud Light “Bud Knight -- Dilly Dilly” commercial, which landed Bud Light on our Most Hated list for 2018.

Procter & Gamble PG's Tide did very well throughout the entire game, with clever “Tide ad” placements that tricked and amused viewers. Amazon’s AMZN “Alexa lost her voice” ad was also a big hit, getting the company into the top eight for consumer buzz and the third most loved by sentiment.

Best And Worst

Here are LikeFolio’s winners and losers for the 2018 Super Bowl. Data based on LikeFolio analysis of Twitter mentions of brands that advertised on NBC from 6 p.m. ET - 11 p.m. ET.

Best Consumer Buzz (# of Highly Positive Mentions)

1. Doritos (5914)
2. Tide (4647)
3. Pepsi (4397)
4. Mountain Dew (3656)
5. Coca Cola (2050)
6. Wendy's (2007)
7. Amazon (1998)
8. Budweiser (1773)

Most Loved Brands by Sentiment (Percent Positive)

1. Mountain Dew (89 percent)
2. Doritos (89 percent)
3. Amazon Echo (87 percent)
4. Michelob Ultra (87 percent)
5. E*Trade (83 percent)

Most Hated Brands by Sentiment (Percent Positive)

1. Diet Coke (33 percent)
2. Sprint (47 percent)
3. TurboTax (48 percent)
4. Bud Light (51 percent)
5. Coca Cola (53 percent)

Sentiment is calculated using the following formula: # positive mentions / (# positive mentions + # negative mentions)