The Super Bowl has come and gone, and while the final play is still getting talked about, the ads are too. Last week, WebProNews spoke with Peter Daboll, the CEO of ad effectiveness firm Ace Metrix, who told us that there is a difference between an ad being likable and effective.

He told us that many ads are likable, but for an ad to be effective, it has to connect with consumers on an emotional level. In other words, consumers need to remember the brand, the product, and the goal of the ad.

Which ads did you consider “effective” this year? Please let us know in the comments.

As Zach Walton wrote earlier this week, the top 5 ads this year all included humor. Here’s the complete top 10 list from Ace Metrix:

In a post-game interview with Daboll, he explained that Ace Metrix bases its analysis on a balanced set of geodemographic consumers viewing the ads. It then scores them on a 9-point scale model that rates the ads on the most important attributes that drive effectiveness. From there, it determines its Ace Score on a 0-950 scoring basis.

“It’s not just a poll like American Idol voting contests with the thumbs up or thumbs down,” he said.

Through this model, Ace Metrix can find out how effective ads were in connecting with consumers and spurring a behavior change. The firm analyzes ads all throughout the year in order to compare and contrast its data.

Speaking about the winning ads of the Super Bowl, Daboll told us that it was obvious the brands had conducted adequate testing. Incidentally, when we spoke to him last week, he predicted that M&M’s, Doritos, and Coca-Cola would be in the top spots, and he was right. According to him, the marketers behind these ads are some of the best in the world.

Because humor connects with broad audience, such as the Super Bowl, Daboll was not surprised it was used in the top commercials. He did point out that, humor isn’t the only element that works. The 6th most effective ad was the “It’s Halftime America” from Chrysler and was not humorous at all.

Although the ad has sparked some controversy, Daboll said it really connected with consumers since it had the highest overall relevance score out of all the ads.

Chrysler’s ad also topped the “Most Effective Automotive Super Bowl Ads” list but was followed by the humorous driven ad from Honda, “Matthew’s Day Off.”

Here’s the complete list of automotive winners:

The least effective ads this year were a bit surprising, since Budweiser had 3 of its 5 ads in the bottom 5. The others that didn’t connect well were Hulu’s “Hulubratory” and H&M’s “David Beckham’s Bodywear Collection.”

Daboll told us that the H&M ad was long, boring, and way over the top, saying that the only group that liked it was women over 50. He also called Hulu’s ad “incomprehensible” since it wasn’t able to communicate its message.

Although Budweiser normally does well, the company’s Bud Light Platinum spots did not resonate with consumers at all. In fact, many consumers were just puzzled by them. The company took a risk with advertising a new product at the Super Bowl, and it didn’t prove to turn out in their favor.

“When you’re launching a new product on such a large venue, you still have to communicate some information about it… or people are confused,” said Daboll.

“It’s very hard to do a great Super Bowl ad – that’s why you can’t give enough credit to the guys that seem to do it year after year,” he added.

Daboll went on to say that the brands that consistently do well are likely already starting on next year’s Super Bowl ads. The key to success is not being funny, he continued, but it’s having the right message and testing until it’s perfect.