News Release | Community
UTRGV, along with 12 other universities across the nation, will participate in Ad Meter, rating national commercials based on what resonated with them and what missed the mark. (UTRGV Photo by David Pike)
Friday, February 7, 2025
Student Life, Community
By Amanda Alaniz
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – FEB. 7, 2025 – This Super Bowl LIX, UTRGV students will share their insights on commercials as part of USA Today’s 37th annual Ad Meter competition, the industry’s leading tool for gauging public sentiment about Super Bowl ads.
This year, UTRGV, along with 12 other universities across the nation, will participate in Ad Meter, rating national commercials based on what resonated with them and what missed the mark. UTRGV is the only school in The University of Texas System to take part, joining students from Texas Tech University, Texas Christian University, Michigan State University, Tulane University and more.
Launched in 1989, the Ad Meter invites the public to rate the big game’s commercials. Two years ago, USA Today extended the invitation to collegiate marketing and advertising students.
This Super Bowl LIX, UTRGV students will share their insights on commercials as part of USA Today’s 37th annual Ad Meter competition, the industry’s leading tool for gauging public sentiment about Super Bowl ads. (Courtesy Photo: USA Today)
This marks the first time UTRGV has been selected as panelists, with 33 students sharing their opinions, ratings and comments on the commercials. Dr. Kimberly Selber, associate professor in the UTRGV Department of Communication and Graduate Program director, said her Copywriting and Art Direction class will participate in the competition.
For the past 10 years, Selber has utilized the Ad Meter in her classroom to discuss students’ favorite ads and their impact. The students will select their top 5 and bottom 5 commercials, with results published in a post-Super Bowl article.
Dr. Kimberly Selber, associate professor in the UTRGV Department of Communication and Graduate Program director, said her Copywriting and Art Direction class will participate in the competition. (Courtesy Photo: Dr. Kimberly Selber)
“This is a great way for the students to see all of the Super Bowl ads – some in advance of the game and some that are embargoed until they air during the game,” Selber explained.
To learn more about the Ad Meter, visit https://admeter.usatoday.com/2025.
ABOUT UTRGV
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund – a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions.
UTRGV has campuses and off-campus research and teaching sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley including in Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville (formerly The University of Texas at Brownsville campus), Edinburg (formerly The University of Texas-Pan American campus), Harlingen, McAllen, Port Isabel, Rio Grande City, and South Padre Island. UTRGV, a comprehensive academic institution, enrolled its first class in the fall of 2015, and the School of Medicine welcomed its first class in the summer of 2016.