TiVo Says: We Like Chips

The most-watched moments on Sunday center around snacks

By SCOTT BUDMAN

Updated 10:15 AM PDT, Mon, Feb 8, 2010

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The second-biggest winner on Super Bowl Sunday? The chip business, according to TiVo.

Using data from the digital video recorders it makes, the Alviso, Calif.-based company has broken down our Sunday watching second by second. What it shows is that we watch what we eat: Namely, chips.

Over and over again, Super Bowl XLIV viewers watched the Doritos "House Rules" commercial. It was the N spot, according to TiVo, which helped popularize the idea of digitally pausing and replaying live TV. Also among the top five: The "Underdog" Doritos ad.

A different kind of chip ad also made the top 5: a spot from microprocessor-maker Intel, the first Super Bowl ad from the chip giant in 13 years.

As for the game itself, no big surprise: The most-watched play was the game-clinching interception and touchdown run by New Orleans' Tracy Porter. So many people TiVoed the Porter snag that it was the number one watched moment of the entire night. And Porter didn't even have to pay $3 million for his 30 seconds.

The common theme? When it came to ads, being funny worked.

"The theme in this year's list is again humor," said TiVo VP Todd Juenger. "All of the ads that scored the highest make people laugh."

And how's this? Domain-name registrar GoDaddy.com's spots didn't even make it into the top 10. Brett Favre talking about being an old man for Hyundai did better than Danica Patrick getting a massage from a gorgeous blonde.

What kind of world do we live in? One where we pass the chips.

Your favorite Super Bowl moment? Tell Scott on Twitter: @scottbudman