A red M&M who would do anything for love, within reason, was named the best commercial of the lot from this year’s Super Bowl.

About 50 students and family members from the University of Iowa’s Tippie MBA Marketing Academy met for their annual Super Bowl ad party Sunday night to watch the game and rate the vaunted commercials between the action. Thanks to a great game and a power outage, the ads wound up taking something of a back seat this year, but the students say a few managed to rise above the excitement and effectively get across the sponsor’s brand message.

The students felt the M&M’s “Love Ballad” spot worked because it started like a typical ad, but the series of humorous turns for the worse for the M&M effectively held the audience’s attention.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=44dMe2CRlFU

The students felt Audi’s “Prom” ad convinced the audience that the car maker’s tradition of bravery inspired the young man to alter the course of his night and make a series of bold statements.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJOn3jG5tUk

And Taco Bell’s “Viva Young” redefined who people think eat at Taco Bell while presenting an interesting take on their brand image.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvxZcULxfKw

The students also rated their two least effective ads. The worst, they believed, was Go Daddy’s “Perfect Match” spot that has been widely criticized already. While the long kiss was awkward enough, they say the sound effects made it worse and that it showed the company has officially gone too far with its intentionally shocking ads.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-3j4-4N3Ng

The student analysts also were confused by the use of a fish as a mascot for an under-defined product in Beck’s Sapphire beer because, outside of a fishing trip, fish and beer don’t mix well.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJoiCP2Wnpw