WestwoodOne to rank Super Bowl radio ads for creativity

In the days after the Super Bowl, much of the public’s attention gravitates toward television ads. Now, WestwoodOne, the radio programming company based in New York, is trying to bring some of that interest over to radio commercials.

For the first time, the company will rank the most creative audio commercials aired during Super Bowl XLVIII, the company said Wednesday. It will release two rankings, one using votes from the public and the other chosen by a group of advertising, media and creative executives.

WestwoodOne’s chief executive, Paul Caine, said he hopes the index helps to increase the reach of the ads and give more information to its advertisers about what’s working.

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“The Super Bowl is a huge event that everyone’s paying attention to,” Caine said. “Shouldn’t we be talking about the wonderful creative that’s happening alongside the audiocast?”

More than 700 radio stations will broadcast WestwoodOne’s coverage of the big game. Consumers will be able to vote using WestwoodOne’s website on the day of the contest, which is Feb. 2, 2014.

The company, which recently changed its name from Dial Global, distributes its programming to about 8,200 stations and reaches more than 225 million listeners a week. It agreed this year to be acquired by radio broadcaster and syndicator Cumulus Media Inc. for $260 million, a deal expected to close by the end of the year.

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ryan.faughnder@latimes.com

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