MEN ARE FROM MARS, WOMEN ARE FROM VENUS.

Except when it comes to Super Bowl advertising. VB&P has found even though women (48%) are more likely than men (29%) to discuss their favorite ads after the Super Bowl, the sexes have a lot in common when it comes to brand memorability, preference and purchasing habits after the game. The study is part of a survey we did with 1,000 Americans to better understand the pulse of consumers on the economy, social networking and preferences according to gender, coming into this year’s Super Bowl.

Men (81%) and women (91%) both report that humor makes an ad more memorable, so it should come as no surprise that both sexes chose Budweiser as their favorite advertiser from last year’s game, with Doritos, Pepsi, E*trade and Bud Light all ranking high on their lists. In a split of the sexes, the majority of men (34%) admitted they were more likely to remember an ad if it had an attractive person in it, whereas the majority of women (51%) were more likely to remember ads with cute animals.

Men report they’re more interested in the game than women are, but the next day they are the ones who will be more likely to rewatch their favorite ads online (45% of men vs. 37% of women). However, women (34%) were more likely than men (27%) to pass along those favorite ads on popular social networking site Facebook.

When it comes to purchasing habits, women (75%) are only slightly more likely than men (71%) to buy a product after seeing it advertised during the game, despite men being more optimistic about the economy and feeling more strongly that spending ad dollars in a recession is responsible.

If there’s one thing the sexes agree exactly on, it’s what brands they would like to see in this year’s game that didn’t advertise last year. McDonald’s, Google and Apple are the brands Americans would like to see in the 2010 Super Bowl spotlight. Men and women ranked these three the highest on their list in this exact order, picked from Interbrand’s list of “Best Global Brands.”

For more information on the study or to schedule an interview with Lucy Farey-Jones, Partner and Head of Strategy, Venables Bell & Partners, please contact Meredith Vellines at meredith.vellines@venablesbell.com.

THE AFTERLIFE OF A SUPER BOWL AD.

Almost half (41%) of Super Bowl watchers will rewatch this year’s ads online, according to our agency’s survey of how Americans plan to interact with Super Bowl ads. This technology survey follows a prior study by VB&P that found Americans are just as likely to discuss ads as they are plays the Monday after the Super Bowl.

YouTube will be the online destination of choice for those who want to relive the Super Bowl’s advertising glory, over Google, Yahoo!, AOL, and USAToday’s popular Ad Meter site. 26% of those online watchers expect to pass along their favorite ads via e-mail or social networking sites. The majority (31%) will use Facebook to share their top picks over sending links of the spots to friends via YouTube, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Though Facebook was the preferred medium for sharing ads across all age groups, women (34%) were more likely to share their ad on the popular social networking site than men (27%). Men were more likely to rewatch the ads broadcast online and use Twitter over women.

Super Bowl watchers will also be busy communicating online while watching the game. With over half of respondents reporting they will have the ability to surf the Web during the actual broadcast, 44% plan to engage in some sort of technology communication tool (text messaging, search, Twitter, Facebook, blogging, IM, talking on the phone). Of those multitaskers, 20% plan to text message and 15% will either talk on the phone, e-mail or Facebook.

For more information on the study or to schedule an interview with Lucy Farey-Jones, Partner and Head of Strategy, Venables Bell & Partners, please contact Meredith Vellines at meredith.vellines@venablesbell.com.