Super Bowl ads go to the dogs

— -- The Super Bowl is over, but there's still plenty of time on the clock for folks who want to help pick the Big Game's winning TV commercial.

Sunday night, for sure, ads with dogs had the most bark.

A partnership this year gives all consumers a vote in picking the winning Super Bowl commercial in the USA TODAY/Facebook Ad Meter. Voting began during the game as ads aired and you can view the ads, vote, like and share the commercials at admeter.usatoday.com and on Facebook. The official voting will close at 6 p.m. ET Tuesday and the winner will be named that night online at usatoday.com and on Facebook and in Wednesday print editions of USA TODAY.

But a panel of consumers also was gathered Sunday, as in previous Ad Meters, to rate the ads electronically as they aired in the game, and gave a clear sign that dogs are still a Super Bowl advertiser's best friend.

The panel's top pick was a Dorito's spot — made on a $20 budget — featuring a 120-pound Great Dane that casually buries the family cat, then bribes the owner to keep mum by supplying him with Doritos.

But this was to be a three-dog night. The runners-up also featured canines, including a VW spot that had a pooch hitting the gym to be able to chase a VW Beetle into a Star Wars-like adventure. It was followed by a Skechers spot with a sneaker-wearing, pudgy bulldog winning a race against greyhounds.

The key to the success of the spots: The pooches act like nice people. "Dogs seem to be more personable," says William Kindred of Phoenix, Ariz. "People can relate to them. The love for animals is universal."

So is the love for commercials with dogs, followed closely by cute kids. Perhaps this tweet, from Nathan Marting, best sums it up: "Doritos owning the Super Bowl ads tonight. Dogs and babies never fail."

But for the first time in years, in a nation where unemployment still hovers above 8% and one still embroiled in two wars, a serious ad garnered serious attention on the Super Bowl. A powerful, two-minute-long Chrysler spot featuring actor Clint Eastwood likened the halftime plans of the two Super Bowl teams to America working to get back on its feet. The ad, however, could not be officially rated by the panel because it ran during halftime, not during the game.

There was strong social media buzz for the Chrysler spot. "Kudos to @chrysler for delivering a deeper message than selling cars and living the blinged out life," tweeted @jacquichew,

In the early online Ad Meter voting at the end of the game the Doritos dog was running No. 2, while another dog — the Bud Light rescue dog Weego — was in the lead. Dogs had four of the top five slots.

Now, it's up to you. Consumers coast to coast have a chance to pick the Ad Meter winner. Every vote counts. But you can only vote once per ad at admeter.usatoday.com and facebook.com.

Some 54 commercials that cost upwards of $3.5 million per 30-second slot were in the NBC broadcast watched by more than 100 million viewers.

And in the cat-and-mouse race for top pick, the panel's favorite was the Doritos spot created by Jonathan Friedman, a freelance graphic designer and musican from Virginia Beach, Va.