As we saw a year ago, different metrics can produce different lists “the top 10 Super Bowl ads.” But one of the methodologies for evaluating video performance that has a lot of merit is the number of times content has been shared on Facebook, Twitter and in the blogosphere.

This avoids the whole debate over the definition of a “view.” (Facebook says you pay for a “view when a video is displayed in a user’s news feed for 3 seconds or more, even if the person doesn’t actually click on the video to watch with the sound turned on. With TrueView in-stream ads, YouTube says you pay for a “view” when a viewer watches 30 seconds of your video – or the duration if it’s shorter than 30 seconds – or engages with your video, whichever comes first.)

Looking at “shares” instead of “views” also has a lot of merit because research shows that social video recommendations significantly impact traditional brand metrics. For example, a study conducted by Decipher Research, which surveyed online video viewers, aged 18-34, across four social video campaigns from Guinness, Coca-Cola, Unilever’s Cornetto, and Energizer Batteries, found that social video significantly increases brand attention.

The power of social video lies in the recommendation to view the content. This recommendation comes not only from peers in social media environments, but also from authoritative blogs and news sources covering advertiser content editorially. The impact of the recommendation on consumers is considerable:

• Viewers are more likely to enjoy a video when it has been recommended than when encountered through browsing (14 percent higher enjoyment).
• Viewers are more likely to recall a brand name when the social video has been recommended than when encountered through browsing (7 percent higher recall).
• Viewers are more likely to engage with an ad’s messages when the social has been recommended than when encountered through browsing (10 percent higher brand association).

This brings us to a new list of the 10 most-shared Super Bowl ads of all time, which my friends at Unruly just – um, er, ah – shared with me. (Ironic, ain’t it.)

One thing that stands out is Budweiser’s dominance. It’ll be really interesting to see how they fare in this year as they change strategies creatively.

1. Volkswagen: “The Force” – 5,356,887 shares

Year: Super Bowl 2011

2. Budweiser: “9/11 Commercial” from 2002 – 3,490,685 shares

Year: Super Bowl 2002

3. 3. Budweiser: “Brotherhood”  – 2,945,145 shares

Year: Super Bowl 2013

4. 4. Budweiser: Lost Dog – 2,543,232 shares

Year: Super Bowl 2015

5. Budweiser: “Puppy Love” – 2,015,010 shares

From: Super Bowl 2014

6. Ram Trucks: “Farmer” – 1,940,642 shares

From: Super Bowl 2013

7. Fast & Furious 6: “Big Game Spot” – 1,504,906 shares

From: Super Bowl 2013

8. 8.  Chevrolet: “Needing/Getting” from 2012  – 1,342,199 shares

From: Super Bowl 2012

9. 9. Paramount: Fast and Furious 7 trailer – 1,317,954 shares

From: Super Bowl 2015

10. 10. Volkswagen: “The Bark Side” – 918,587 shares

From: Super Bowl 2012

If you’re interested in taking a look at last year’s game, Unruly also has a list of the most shared Super Bowl ads of 2015. You can also get some additional insights from their recent white paper Science of Sharing: Super Bowl XLIX Study. Here are some stats to consider:

• 51% of Super Bowl ads were seen online, NOT on TV.
• Data from Unruly Analytics shows that 30% of YouTube video shares occur in the first two days following launch, whereas 70% of shares occur in the same time period on Facebook.

VW’s The Force is one of the most popular Super Bowl ads ever. However, one thing Unruly has seen over the past 3 years is that shares of auto ads have steadily decreased.