McDonald's and Coca-Cola take top honors in USA TODAY's first Olympic Ad Meter.WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 4, 1996--McDonald's and Coca-Cola took first and second place respectively in USA TODAY's first Olympic Ad Meter competition. The Olympic Ad Meter measures how well randomly selected individuals liked television commercials that aired on NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. during the Olympics. A 90-second commercial for McDonald's starring a young boy who realizes his dream of winning the 100-meter dash took first place with a score of 8.83 (on a scale of 0 - 10). Coca-Cola took second place for their commercial featuring a mother yelling relentlessly for her kids to come home -- finding success only when she pulls out a 2-liter bottle of Coke. In third place, a commercial for John Hancock Financials took viewers on a trip down memory lane looking at former Olympic champions. Coke took fourth place with a commercial starring a polar bear polar bear, large white bear, Ursus maritimus, formerly Thalarctos maritimus, of the coasts of arctic North America. Polar bears usually live on drifting pack ice, but sometimes wander long distances inland. luging Noun 1. luging - riding a light one-man toboggan tobogganing - riding on a long light sled with low handrails down a mountain stopping only to enjoy an ice-cold Coke. Bud Light captured fifth place with a commercial featuring a deliveryman and his quest for Verb 1. quest for - go in search of or hunt for; "pursue a hobby" quest after, go after, pursue look for, search, seek - try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of; "The police are searching for clues"; "They are searching for the the gold in the pommel horse pommel horse or side horse Gymnastics event for men. It uses a padded rectangular apparatus supported by legs and with two pommels (U-shaped handles) on the top. and pole vault pole vault Track-and-field event consisting of a vault for height over a crossbar with the aid of a long pole. It became a competitive sport in the mid-19th century and was included in the first modern Olympic Games. events. For complete results, see the August 5 editions of USA TODAY USA Today National U.S. daily general-interest newspaper, the first of its kind. Launched in 1982 by Allen Neuharth, head of the Gannett newspaper chain, it reached a circulation of one million within a year and surpassed two million in the 1990s. . The top 10 commercials and each one's rating: 1. McDonald's: The 100 -- 8.83 2. Coke 6: Kids -- 8.78 3. John Hancock Financials: Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a well-known Christian hymn. The words were written late in 1772 by Englishman John Newton. They first appeared in print in Newton's Olney Hymns, 1779 that he worked on with William Cowper. -- 8.39 4. Coke: Luging Bear -- 8.28 5. Bud Light: Pommel Horse -- 8.21 6. McDonald's: Cone -- 8.17 7. McDonald's: Mini Mite Marathon -- 8.17 8. Frito Lay: Pretzel Boy with Scottie Pippin-- 8.03 9. Lee: Laundry -- 7.77 10. AT&T: Various Athletes with Global Olympic Village -- 7.38 The Olympic Ad Meter took place in San Jose, Omaha and Arlington, Va., during the week of July 29. This was the first time USA TODAY's Ad Meter polling expanded to more than one city. A total of 234 volunteers, chosen at random, charted their second-by-second reactions to the national Olympic commercials using hand-held meters to register how much they liked or disliked a commercial. A computer averaged the scores continuously at each site. To determine the overall winners, the three polling sites were combined and the second-by-second scores for each commercial were averaged. Each advertiser was contacted and given the opportunity to submit the Olympic commercials they thought were most influential. Regional commercials were not included in the competition, only commercials that ran on the NBC network were eligible. USA TODAY is the nation's top-selling newspaper. It is published via satellite at 33 locations in the USA and at four sites abroad. With a total average daily circulation of 2,181,494, USA TODAY is available worldwide. CONTACT: USA TODAY Steve Anderson, 703/276-5872 |
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