Rochester Business Journal

Google Inc.’s Parisian love story commercial scored high marks in Roberts Communications Inc.’s annual Super Bowl focus group survey.

Customer Bowl V’s fan favorite during Super Bowl XLIV was Google’s “Search On” campaign, which received the most positive comments from Facebook fans.

Fans chimed in more than 800 times with comments from three continents and more than 20 different states. The second-most liked TV spot was for the Snickers brand’s “Betty White” ad. No. 3 was for Doritos brand “Hands Off my Mama” advertisement.

For the first time in the five years since starting its survey, Roberts held the survey virtually, using social media.

“In past years, we’ve hosted live focus groups at a sports bar during the game, and used an online ‘water cooler’ survey to see what customers really think about the ads,” explained William Murtha, Roberts’ president and CEO. “This year we used Facebook because it’s the ‘water cooler’ of today’s media.

“Customer Bowl V demonstrated the power of social media by instantly connecting hundreds of fans from around the world to watch and share opinions of the spots together.”

Commercials for the game cost roughly $90,000 a second to air, Roberts officials say. The cost of a 30-second advertisement in the Super Bowl has more than quadrupled in the past 20 years, reaching $3 million in 2009. Prices were lower for the 2010 game, with CBS reportedly having sold 30-second units for $2.5 million to $2.8 million.

Founded in 1971, Roberts Communications is an integrated communications firm based in Rochester. The company employs 69 people and in 2009 generated $75 million in capitalized billings.

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