USA TODAY Launches 33rd Ad Meter Competition

USA TODAY, part of Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), launched its 33^rd Ad Meter program, the premiere gauge for public evaluation and opinion about Super Bowl advertisements. This year’s competition is presented by Kia Motors and features an array of new program elements.

Ad Meter participants can login, watch and rate this year’s Super Bowl ads starting Wednesday, Feb. 3. Ad rating will run through the big game and officially close on Monday, Feb. 8 at 1 a.m. ET. Each participant must rate every commercial that airs during the Super Bowl for their ratings to be counted. To register as a rater and keep up with news and updates surrounding the commercials, visit admeter.usatoday.com.

In addition to the traditional Ad Meter ranking, USA TODAY Sports is launching Replay Ratings sponsored by Verizon as another measurement tool for superlative categories that will name commercials as the most comedic, inspirational, heartwarming, action-packed, as well as the best teaser. Participants can begin casting their votes on Monday, Feb. 8^th through Thursday, Feb. 11.

“Ad Meter is always a buzz for the advertising community during the Super Bowl, and we are happy to be a part of Ad Meter again this year,” said Russell Wager, Vice President, Marketing, Kia Motors America. “As the proud winner of the 2017 Ad Meter, we at Kia are longtime fans of this annual pop culture event and look forward to not only the Super Bowl game itself, but the friendly competition between the advertisers as they vie for the top spot.”

For a second year, USA TODAY and YouTube’s strategic partnership will provide sentiment analysis and data insights to the Ad Meter platform. All commercials that are ranked in USA TODAY’s Ad Meter will also be curated into a proprietary USA TODAY Ad Meter Playlist on YouTube AdBlitz.

“The Super Bowl ads have become just as big as the game itself. We will all be watching closely this year to see how brands approach their messaging and how consumers respond," said Chris Pirrone, VP and General Manager, USA TODAY Sports Media Group. “Ad Meter will be highly competitive this year, and we’re excited to provide our annual measurement and consumer insights, in partnership with Kia, Verizon and YouTube.”

Ad Meter fans will be able to engage socially in exciting new ways this year. Beginning today, fans can leverage a unique augmented-reality filter on USA TODAY and USA TODAY Sports Instagram pages that allows fans to share their excitement about this year’s Ad Meter competition with their social network.

The winner of the 2021 Super Bowl Ad Meter will be announced on Monday, Feb. 8 at 8:30 a.m. ET. All Super Bowl ads and the ranking results will be available at admeter.usatoday.com. Following the announcement of the results, USA TODAY will be hosting “Ad Meter Live” at noon ET. The video show hosted by USA TODAY Ralphie Aversa, host of USA TODAY’s Entertain This!, will feature industry experts, including Adweek’s Editor-in-Chief, Stephanie Paterik, and USA TODAY National Sports Columnist Nancy Armour for commentary on the commercials and Ad Meter results.

About USA TODAY

Founded in 1982, USA TODAY reflects the pulse of the nation, serving as host of the American conversation by delivering high-quality, engaging content through unique visual storytelling across all platforms. A media innovator, USA TODAY reaches more than 90M unique visitors each month across digital platforms, with more than 25 million downloads of our award-winning app. USA TODAY is owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI).

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