Top Five Sexiest 2013 Super Bowl Ads

Another Super Bowl in the books. This year's big game was a down to the wire, but the Ravens prevailed despite a determined 49er's comeback effort. Regardless, research shows that people are as apt to tune in for the ads as much as for the on-field action.

As usual, several ads in this year's big game contained sexual themes and/or imagery. Here is our list of the five sexiest Super Bowl ads in 2013 plus some honorable mentions. View all the the Super Bowl ads at USA Today and tell us what you think.

5.  Tie:  Best Buy - Asking Amy / Audi - Prom
Amy Poehler asks as lot of questions of her Best Buy associate that become increasingly playful:  "Do you deliver? No, I mean, do you deliver?" And "Does it make you uncomfortable when I use the word 'dongle?' Playful for sure. And "Will this one read 50 Shades of Grey to me in a sexy voice? Will you?" Again, playful and flirty. Nothing over the top but humorous and one sure to go over the kids' heads.

Lots of interesting messages in this Audi spot, but a protracted smooch with the prom queen earns this commercial from Venables Bell a tie for top five. Long kisses was a theme in this year's Super Bowl (see Go Daddy's spot at #2).

4.  Speed Stick:  Laundry
Fairly classic theme with a young man caught inadvertently folding a strangers underwear at the laundromat. Totally innocent, of course, but he does insert his foot into mouth at the end. Again, a tired theme but almost any ad with undergarments will get on the list.

3.  Axe:  Lifeguard
Eye candy for both men and women alike, Axe's latest effort attempts to prove that astronauts (that wear Apollo) are more desirable than sexy lifeguards--even those who duke it out with great whites. Humorous spot with a predictable ending. Reminiscent of Baywatch with plenty of chiseled hunks and skimpy bikinis, this spot is definitely qualifies as sex in advertising.

2.  Godaddy.com:  Perfect Match
Featuring supermodel Bar Refaeli--is DiCaprio jealous?--the spot features an extreme closeup of Bar (sexy) slurpily kissing (meets) nerd (smart). Word is that the domain-name marketer had its busiest day for online traffic last night. Like it or not, there is little doubt that sexual content has served to distinguish Go Daddy from the competition. As one colleague said, "Ask most Americans to name another domain marketer."

1.  Calvin Klein:  Concept
Also disliked by most viewers (USA Today's Ad Meter) and panned by Ad Age, this spot was nonetheless, the sexiest spot of 2013 Super Bowl. Who can argue that this spot was a blatant example of beefcake in the extreme. The spot from Calvin Klein created awareness its Concept line of underwear.

Honorable Mentions
Kia: HotBots; M & Ms: Love Ballad; and Mercedes-Benz: Soul.

Sexiest commercials of 2009 according to Spike.com

Leave it to Spike, the network devoted to young adult males, to deliver on the sexiest spots of the past year. Spike.com lists the 10 sexiest ads of 2009. True to form, all of them are from a male perspective: lots of breasts, bikinis and girl-on-girl action. We see swimsuit supermodel Bar Refaeli in a revealing two piece, Pamela Anderson and another woman splashing each other with coffee creamer, and Calvin Klein jeans' couch menage-a-trios.

Surprisingly, the list includes three PSAs that gained international attention last year. One, for breast cancer, shows oglers going ga-ga over a Canadian broadcaster's jiggling breasts. A spot featuring a Hitler stand-in having sex, written about last year, to promote HIV-awareness. Rounding out the PSAs is PETA's "banned" Super Bowl ad encouraging veganism that put a new spin on vege-wrap. Let's keep an eye out for the sexiest ads of 2010. Thanks to Ray my TA for keeping me current.

Sexiest ads of the 2009 Oscars

The Academy Awards show is the second largest advertising event after the Super Bowl. Over 32 million U.S. viewers tuned in this year to see the spectacle: Hugh Jackman, People magazine’s Sexiest Person of 2008, introducing beautiful actors looking their best. For this reason alone, the 2009 Oscars deserve a peak to seek if its advertisers utilized sex appeal to market their products.

Unlike the Super Bowl, Oscar viewers are more upscale and more likely to be female. As a result, sexual content is more subtle than the "shock-and-awe" of GoDaddy.com commercials. Typical are attractive models, with fetching smiles and flirtatious glances. Last year’s sexiest Oscar ads included promos for "Dancing with the Stars," and commercials for L’Oreal (not in this year’s line up) and Cadillac. Here is a shortlist of the sexiest ads aired during this year’s telecast.

3. Diet Coke. "Red Dress."

Just about any commercial with supermodel Heidi Klum in a short red dress qualifies. The spot helped to create awareness for women’s heart health.

2. JCPenney. "Style. Quality. Price."

Stylish, attractive models. Flirty looks into the camera. The sexual content was certainly subtle and playful in the seven Penney’s ads showcasing designer lines it carries with the tagline “Style. Quality. Price.” Last year, Penneys used the Academy Awards to introduce its Ralph Lauren-infused "American Living" line.

1. Dial. Antioxident Body Wash.

Soap ads have contained veiled images of people showering for years, so what’s the big deal? Well, this Dial ad definitely updates those standards by showing more than before. The ad kicks off the launch for the new anti-aging line (cranberry extracts and antioxidant infusion combat aging). With little doubt the ad raised awareness among the 40% of viewers who are male.

Top Five Sexiest 2009 Super Bowl Ads

Sour economic times lead to less tolerance for gratuitous sex appeals in advertising. That’s the conjecture from some Russian sociologists. Judging from this year’s Super Bowl, I would have to agree. Compared to 2008 (see a rundown of last year’s sexiest ads), this year’s spots are much more subdued both in terms of number and explicitness of sexual ads. Overall, my team noted only two clear instances of sex in advertising (GoDaddy), two mild instances of sex in advertising (Doritos and Taco Bell), and three instances of sexual content flashed momentarily on the screen (movie and network promos).

5. Movie/Network Promos (Fast and Furious 4, Star Trek, Chuck)

What do these three promos have in common? One brief sexual scene. It wasn’t enough to qualify them individually, but we’ll lump them together because they’re promos. Two women kiss (almost) in the "Fast and Furious 4" spot, two dark figures are unmistakably entangled in the "Star Trek" promo, and a woman on all fours moves toward the camera in the "Chuck" spot. She wasn’t on screen for long but the "Chuck" promo aired at least four times. Research shows that most movie and network promos contain sexual scene even if that scene is insignificant within the program.

4. Taco Bell: "Spicy Chicken Enchiladas Platter"

How does the come-on-too-strong-at-a-party theme qualify? We did mention that this is a mild example of sex in advertising. The couple is attractive and there is flirtation. But using enchiladas from Taco Bell to win her over takes the cake. The spot is lite and humorous, much like last year’s Super Bowl “Mariachi” spot for Taco Bell.

3. Doritos: "Power of the Crunch"
He crunches. Her clothes fly off. Audience sees woman in underwear. A classic example of unclothed female model used to attract attention. The man’s saving grace: It was an accident and he didn’t use his new found power on other women. Overall, a cute and memorable spot. But tough to top last year’s amateur-produced spots.

1. [tie] GoDaddy: "Baseball" and "Shower"

The domain name provider is known for its tasteless and downright bad examples of sex in Super Bowl advertising; most recently featuring Indy car driver Danica Patrick. Last year she promised to take it off. This year—in two separate spots—she takes multiple showers and talks about “enhancement.” In the “Shower” spot, a voyeuristic college male and his friends direct Danica to take showers. He even adds Ms. Schmidt, "the German woman in the Dean's office," to the Danika shower fantasy. In “Baseball,” a take on the steriod circus, GoDaddy spokeswomen testify to a Congressional committee. Danica is the first to admit that she did “enhance”--her image that is. Envious, an obviously "enhanced" female witness is about to rip open her top as proof when the commercial cuts to “Continued at GoDaddy.com.”

Personally, I hate to see Ms. Patrick in these ads, but she is a visible sex symbol in a male dominated sport—with many adoring male fans who are GoDaddy’s target market. Last year’s ad drove men to the site. These ads appearently did the same.

CTV bans infidelity ad

As posted by David Kiefaber at Adfreak, Canadian viewers of this year's Super Bowl will not see a spot for AshleyMadison.com, the online dating service for married people seeking affairs. As Kiefaber notes, the spot is fairly tame. But what Ashley Madison represents is likely the issue. Click here to see the firm's related media efforts. Reportedly, a print ad in the NFL game program was rejected as well.

PETA too hot for NBC

Victoria's Secret and GoDaddy aren't the only marketers pushing the limits on Super Bowl advertising. NBC rejected (no surprise here) PETA's commercial "Veggie Love." The spot features beautiful women undressing while getting especially close to their vegetables (definitely a twist on "veggie tales"). The message is that vegetables are good for you which means you'll have more love to give.

One NBC exec said the spot "depicts a level of sexuality exceeding our standards." NBC asked PETA to cut the following shots before reconsideration: licking pumpkin, touching her breast with her hand while eating broccoli, pumpkin from behind between legs, rubbing pelvic region with pumpkin, licking eggplant, etc.

The move by PETA is a smart way to get high levels of publicity without forking over $3 million for a 30-second spot. It also is in line with recent PETA ads featuring sexed up imagery to get its message noticed.

Top Five Sexiest 2008 Super Bowl Ads

Although the finale for Super Bowl XLII was a surprise, it was no surprise that sexual content made its way into several of this year’s commercials. Overall, the ads were tame compared to previous years as only a handful of sexy ads were broadcast. Here is our list of the five sexiest Super Bowl ads in 2008 plus an honorable mention. View all the Super Bowl ads at USA Today, AOL, or YouTube, and tell us what you think.

5. Tie -- Taco Bell: ‘Hola’ and Planters: “Unibrow”
A sexy commercial for Fiesta Platters? A true stretch but Taco Bell pulls it off with a bit of spice and playful flirtation between a mariachi and a female coworker… Hola! Also, technically, Planter’s “Uni-brow” spot does qualify as sex in advertising: Men falling over themselves because of a woman’s scent is a classic convention, though in this instance the twist is “essence-de-peanut.”

4. Ice Breakers: Whoa!
Any spot featuring sex symbol Carmen Electra is a candidate for the list. In this spot overly excited male admirers line up for a photo op with the gorgeous celeb. Given rumors that she dated Joan Jett, it’s surprising that a female admirer wasn’t shown posing with Electra.

3. SoBe Lite: Thrillicious
It wasn’t the nude lizards so much as an attractive Naomi Campbell. The spot featured Campbell—and the SoBe lizards—dancing to “Thriller.” The commercial is fun to watch; ranking 11 on USA Today’s Ad Meter. Again, ads with physically attractive models in revealing clothing represent a primary form of sexual content in advertising.

2. Victoria’s Secret: “Let the Games Begin”
This spot contained no voiceover, just the soundtrack for “I’m in the mood for love” and 30 seconds of a playful Adriana Lima. Aired during the second half, the spot reminded viewers that “The game will be over soon” so the “real games” can begin. A lingerie-clad supermodel making eye contact with the camera qualifies, but the innuendo between “real games” and sex certainly evoked a few thoughts in the minds of viewers. However, after too much beer and nachos it’s not clear however how many Americans were in the mood for a game of “touch” football after the game.

1. GoDaddy.com: Exposure
The spot begins with Doug surfing while describing his disappointment with recent Super Bowl ads: “I used to watch—for the commercials.” He announces that Danica Patrick’s “Exposure” ad is airing online, and everyone rushes to the computer. Viewers see Patrick “unzip” her leather jacket with a classic cutaway to “See it all…only at GoDaddy.com.” Visitors to GoDaddy can view the “REJECTED” spot where, in true sophomoric fashion, disappointed paparazzi ask Patrick: “Where’s the beaver?” Victoria’s Secret was successful getting Super Bowl viewers to its website with online fashion shows. Using sex to do the same for the rouge GoDaddy.com, is a marketing “no-brainer.”

Honorable Mention: A pair of passionate kisses deserve some love. Among them include: the trailer for Universal’s “Wanted” starring Angelina Jolie, and the kiss in the Dell ad promoting its red computer.

Give us your two cents. Was there a commercial we missed? Again, find all the ads at USA Today, AOL or YouTube.

Victoria’s Secret Super Bowl ad no secret

According to Ad Age and many news sites, Victoria’s Secret will be airing it’s first Super Bowl ad since 1999. Can it have been that long?

Like many people, I still remember VS’s first commercial during the big game. That spot, described by Adweek’s Barbara Lippert as containing plenty of “jiggle,” beckoned viewers to the lingerie marketer’s website for its first ever online “fashion” show. Eager visitors quickly crashed the server.

The new spot supposedly rides the line between taste and sleaze. Fun and “flirtatious” are adjectives used to describe the commercial. According to Age Age’s Natalie Zmuda, the commercial “features Victoria’s Secret Angel Adriana Lima, a football and words that will scroll across the screen.” Ed Razek, Limited Brands’ president, also noted that the commercial will have a different approach than previous VS themes. The spot will air during the second half of the game and be available on VS's website.

This year’s Super Bowl ads are fetching an average of $2.7 million (a record) and advertisers are optimistic that the contest will entice a record number of viewers--94 million watched the game in 1996. With the Pats flirting with a perfect season, a record number of viewers seems likely.