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.

Goldstar reads our minds

This Goldstar ad, and others like it, have been making the rounds. One of my students sent it to me because the ads are humorous and accurate... and "kind of go along with 'sex in advertising.'" While certainly deemed sexist in some quarters the ads do evoke a knowing nod. From what I've seen the ads are credited to McCann-Erickson, Tel Aviv, and can be found in pub/club bathroom stalls and urinal walls. The ads ask "What goes through your mind when someone says 'Let's go for a drink?'"

Vintage sex-and-cigar ad

Here’s a vintage ad that borders on believability. This Muriel cigar ad is intriguing for several reasons, some of which I’ll let you decode. But essentially Muriel is arguing that smoke from its flavored cigars (blueberry, burgundy, grape, cherry, etc.) has the power to subdue attractive women—just exhale in their face.

White Owl Cigars

I’m reminded of an infamous 1930s campaign for White Owl cigars. Company research revealed that White Owl cigar smoke contained fewer chemical substances that caused bad breath then competitive cigars. Capitalizing on this marketing advantage, the J Walter Thompson agency ran print and billboard ads with men and women passionately kissing accompanied by the White Owl logo. The message: A man didn’t have to worry about nasty cigar smoke preventing intimate time with his favorite woman. Sales increased the first year but declined the next.

White Owl’s brand promise fell flat: “less” bad breath is still bad breath. I suspect Muriel experienced the same result with its fruit-flavored cigar line.

This ad was posted on Camel Tap as an example of cigarette ads you’re not likely to ever run again. Visit the site and you'll see why.