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In one of the most exciting Super Bowl’s ever, the real winner was Social Media. The game connected with us and finally some of the advertisers connected with 90 million viewers in a completely different way.

Hyundai promoted an incentive program that will let buyers of new cars return the car if they lost their jobs within a year of purchase. Hyundai would cover $7,500 worth of depreciation.

If Social Media is making friends, they made me a friend. I barely noticed their brand before this campaign. If social media is joining the conversation, they connected on a human level with what we are all talking about in this economic meltdown, looking for faith and hope that maybe a few advertisers converse and pay it forward to viewers where they really live. If social media is listening to those friends, Hyundai is listening and watching and acting in a timely socialized manner to build more loyalty with their fans and perhaps win over potential advocates like me who crave for authenticity amongst Corporate America leaders.

How did or does that play with you? Was it a dim reminder that people are losing their jobs?

Who followed ‘the social media Obama Brand”?

One set of different ads that I found promising are those that fit “the Obama Brand.” These are ads that, like the new president, Barack Obama, call to mind ideas of community involvement rather than consumption.

PepsiCo featured a musical mix of Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young” and a rap by hip-hop artist will.i.am. Its tag-line: “Every Generation Refreshes the World.”

Kellogg’s used its iconic Tony the Tiger to send viewers to a Web site where they nominated a children’s playground or park for a facelift that the cereal maker will pay for.

Who persuaded you to go online?

The Internet is stealing dollars away from traditional media. Internet ads are at least measurable. You can tell what kind of impact they’re having because a lot of the ads have some kind of direct call to action, such as clicking on an ad or getting people to sign up for something online.

Cars.com created a Super Bowl-specific landing page, where users can watch its TV ads. In addition, to boost its organic (unpaid) search results, Cars.com is encouraging its bloggers to write about topics related to the Super Bowl.

Denny’s Grand Slam Ad was a home run using one of Social Media’s secret support weapons, the multimedia effort, that goes way beyond the 30 second ad with print, radio, billboards, Internet and in-store merchandising.

Denny’s spot called “Thugs” made fun of the breakfasts served at rival restaurants compared to its hefty Grand Slam. Denny’s said it was a “healthy shot” at Denny’s competitors who serve candy-like pancakes.

What Denny’s did with their ’special offer’ using Social Media has never been done by a full-service, sit-down restaurant chain. Its’ FREE food on Tuesday from 6 AM to 2 PM.

Advertisers are experimenting with building applications for new media.

PETA hit on the right strategy with its Veggie Love commercial. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals got steamed because NBC rejected its ad for vegetarianism that featured half-naked women playing with vegetables.

The TV network rejected it, the uproar got everybody’s attention, and then the PETA web site scored millions of hits from people who were curious about the banned video.

Meanwhile, Pedigree dog food had one of the ads certain to cause morning-after buzz: one for its adopt-a-dog campaign. The ad asks viewers to imagine a world without dogs. One features a woman holding a leash calling to her pet only to have a rhino comes charging into the room. It’s already available on YouTube.

As part of its effort to promote dog adoption, Mars’s Pedigree has created an iPhone application called “Shake and Bark.”

Consumers can take a picture of their own dogs or download one of a dog looking for a home. The dog on the screen barks when consumers shake their phones. In addition, every video view on Pedigree’s Web site triggers a donation of a bowl of food to a dog shelter.

E*Trade has created a profile on the social networking site Facebook and on the social messaging site Twitter for the talking baby that stars in its commercials. “Spokesperson, child prodigy & financial wizard,” reads the baby’s bio on Twitter. So far, the baby has written messages that encourage visitors to watch the company’s behind-the-scenes outtakes of its TV spot.

No. 1 sponsor was Anheuser-Busch, featured its famed Clydesdale horses in at least three of the spots.

But such American iconography can only go so far when many of us know your company was recently taken over by a Belgian firm. Anheuser-Busch has just released AB-Extras.com, a blog-like site that aims to take you behind the scenes of their highly anticipated spots. Ab-Extras gets you up close and personal with video footage of Joe Pytka, the Director of the commercials, Robin Wiltshire, the Clydesdale trainer, and even the Clydesdales themselves. The social media property also includes content from and links to Anhueser-Busch’s Flickr, blip.tv, and YouTube accounts, as well as a Social Media Newsroom. Plus, you can watch and share sneak peaks of each of the three commercials scheduled to air on football’s big day.

Potential Anheuser-Busch Social Media BLUNDER? They failed to invite comments and have made no mention of plans to eventually enable comments.

I thought I’d be slamming most of the advertisers today, instead, the only real losers are the companies who still think that Social Media is a one off video campaign on YouTube.

Were the Super Bowl ads a waste of money? Should brands spend their money online instead? Please leave your comments.

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