The question of what exactly makes a commercial great has long been a controversy among advertisers. Entertainment value is certainly a factor, but these don’t often sell the most product. In the quest to entertain, the brand being advertised can get lost (Back “in the day” when I was in grad school, the popular example was the california grapes campaign. Everyone knew the commercial, but virtually no one knew the product). This is especially relevant for the Super Bowl commercials, where entertainment value is front and center. Advertisers this year are spending up to $2.7 million on a 30-second spot, and most certainly want their money’s worth in return.

This arguement got me thinking. Will the “best” 2008 Super Bowl commercials be different, depending on the criteria used to judge them? Most rankings are based strictly on popularity. YouTube, AOL, Yahoo!, and Hula.com (an NBC/Fox video site currently in beta) are all expected to air the complete set of commercials after the game and conduct popularity polls.

HDC Research is doing it a bit differently, however. According to Glen Kessler in a KMOX radio interview, the top 20 commercials are picked by a panel marketing and communications experts based on several criteria: how memorable, likeable, creative, exciting, and attention-getting the ads are. The 20 are then viewed and rated online by a panel of 3000 consumers. The results will be posted on the company’s Website tomorrow morning. Perhaps this more analytical approach will yield different results than the strict popularity polls. We shall see.

Advertisers this year (besides the previously mentioned Bud Lite, Budweiser, and United Way spots) include:

- Pepsi, with Justin Timberlake

- Car manufacturers General Motors, Toyota, and Audi. The latter has a “Godfather” theme. Bizarre…of course I never got into the Godfather horse-head scene. Must be a guy thing.

- Coke’s “Coke Side of Life” series, which will include an array of cultural icons, politicians, and personalities.

- Planter’s Peanuts

- Tide to Go — Cute commercial, how a talking stain can ruin an interview.

- Iron Man superhero movie.

- Under Armor