How Clash of Clans—and AngryNeeson52—Won the Super Bowl

While it was up against the biggest car and adult beverage companies around, casual game Clash of Clans outperformed them in the crucial area of online buzz.

Who won the Super Bowl ad game? There were multiple winners, says YouTube marketing specialist Pixability, but the Clash of Clans commercial featuring Liam Neeson (as passionate online gamer AngryNeeson52) was the clear winner for online engagement. As of 10AM ET the day after the Super Bowl, "Clash of Clans: Revenge" had gotten more likes (157,000) than any other, and more comments, too (7,800). While it came in fifth for total views (8.2 million) it got all of those views after the game had started, meaning that it got more post-kickoff views by far than any other spot.

It terms of total views, Budweiser's "Lost Dog," Bud Light's "Real-Life Pac Man," T-Mobile's "#KimsDataStash," and BMW's "Newfangled Idea" all got more online views. However, all four got the vast majority of their views before the Super Bowl started.

Is posting Super Bowl spots online prior to the start of the game a good idea? Many people complain that it spoils the surprise. Pixability, however, says it's a smart strategy. Brands that previewed their ads online averaged 2.9 million views and 32,000 shares. Brands that only released a teaser online got an average of 702,000 views and 4,000 shares.

As for content, Pixability says that emotional and funny ads did best with online viewers. Emotional ads got an average of 4.5 million views and 1,680 comments, while funny ads got an average of 2.7 million views and 782 comments. Informative ads and trailers were the least successful online.

Troy Dreier's article first appeared on OnlineVideo.net