Google’s Parisian love story scored high marks for its touching innovation as Customer Bowl V’s fan favorite during Super Bowl XLIV. Roberts Communications went social with Customer Bowl V for the first time in its five-year tenure, hosting the event on Facebook. Hundreds of Facebook fans voted on their favorite Super Bowl spots and joined virtual community conversations about the ads, the game, food and anything else that came to mind. Fans chimed in more than 800 times with comments, “Likes,” discussion topics and links from three continents and more than 20 different states.

While the New Orleans Saints took the field victory by 31-17, Google won the Customer Bowl Facebook ad challenge. The spot “Parisian Love” took gold, followed by Snickers’ “Betty White” and Doritos’ “Hands Off.” See the chart below for a list of the most popular ads and how they ranked with Customer Bowl fans, along with comments that were posted during the game.

“In past years, we’ve hosted live focus groups at a sports bar during the game and used an online ‘water cooler’ survey to see what customers really think about the ads,” said Bill Murtha, president and CEO of Roberts. “This year we used Facebook because it’s the water cooler of today’s media. Customer Bowl V demonstrated the power of social media by instantly connecting hundreds of fans from around the world to watch and share opinions of the spots together.”

Founded in 2004, Facebook has grown today to more than 350 million active users who use it to stay in touch and share opinions. Fifty percent of active users log on to Facebook in any given day, the company says, posting more than 55 million status updates each day.

Many advertisers used social media to extend the reach of their TV buy and engage consumers. Among the brands advertising during Super Bowl XLIV that have Facebook fan pages are Audi, Bridgestone, Budweiser, Coca-Cola, Denny’s, Doritos and Hyundai.