The regulars on the forum know I studied Marketing in College and have an Associates Degree in the field. So who else should cover the ads that pay for the Superbowl other than me?
Before we get into this I should let people know a 30 second spot during the Superbowl usually costs $3.8 million. So if you’re going to pay that (or sometimes triple) for a single spot you need to make sure that your message is clear and can be understood by the masses. So those “comedic” ads that are strictly for entertainment may not be the best to communicate with the public.
I won’t be covering all the ads in this blog post but if you want to see them you can on Huffington Post.
So let’s get the bad out of the way right off the bat.
Volkswagen
This ad was probably for comedic purposes however it’s been deemed racially insensitive. Not only that I’m really not sure what they are trying to say with the ad and I can’t say it makes me want to jump up and buy a Volkswagen.
Wonderful Pistachios
Yes because Psy does something I IMMEDIATELY must do it. Every year some company picks the flavor of the month for their celebrity endorsement and to me it comes across as lazy. Except this time Psy, in my opinion has used up his 15 minutes. This is the worst ad of the Superbowl.
Blackberry z10
You’d think a company that’s one bad investment (*cough*3.8 million on a bad commercial excluding production costs*cough*) away from going under, would air something that shows off what their product is capable of right? WRONG! Blackberry wasted their money showing off what the phone can’t do, in an attempt to humor the audience and make them want to see the phone in person. Bad call to action for a company that has a bad reputation with new consumers, and bad strategy for a company trying to reactivate people who have attrited your brand.
One of my favorite teachers said you can either have strategy or stragedy when it comes to marketing. This ad displays the latter.
Budweiser Black Crown
I like the dark imagery in the commercial to promote the name and I’m assuming the color of their beer but the one thing I can’t get past is the fact they say they have the best and brightest and I have no idea who these people are. If you’re going to gloat about your endorsements in a commercial at least make them known. Especially when your light beer (Bud Light) had Stevie Wonder and Zoe Saldana.
Pepsi Next
This is a bad ad simply because it contradicts their stance on another product in their product line, Pepsi Max. For years they told us that Pepsi Max with 0 super and 0 calories tasted like “real cola” and now they say Pepsi Next does with a higher amount of sugar.
Doritos
Now before people get on me for picking them as bad commercials hear me out. They had two commercials run, and my problem with them is the message isn’t clear. One a man buys a goat because the goat eats Doritos, he ends up hating the goat because it is constantly eating Doritos, he takes the Doritos away and it starts screaming so he wants to sell the goat. This commercial tells me that Doritos will make you purchase things you will eventually hate. Not a good message if the goal is to get viewers to BUY Doritos. Their second ad is okay but still too much comedy not enough message. It basically says you will do anything to eat Doritos.
Now that that is out of the way, let’s get into the good ads.
Tide
This ad is an ad that pulls comedy off while displaying a message, and will resonate with the primary viewers of the Superbowl. Just watch.
Samsung
I find it funny they got four celebrity endorsements (Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, Bob Odenkirk, and LeBron James) and they talk about finding celebrity endorsements right off the bat. They made fun of every strategy that was used during the Superbowl commercials and even themselves (using LeBron on a tablet, and LeBron’s kids at breakfast (Samsung Galaxy Note II commercial)) all while subtly showing off what their products can do. Great ad.
Mercedes-Benz
This ad is sexy, it shows off the luxury life a Mercedes-Benz can provide a person with subtle celebrity endorsements and shows you you don’t have to make a deal with the Devil to get it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPNr0_6MnDo
NFL Network
I was talking with Coop about the NFL needing a Primetime 2 and the NFL Network agrees. This commercial is just cool and shows you all the coverage you can get if you get NFL Network (combine, draft, games, league news).
Go Daddy
Go Daddy had two ads that were aired; one good, one well not. The ad that was good was the one involving men of different cultures discussing how their Dotco idea was unique and no one would think of it, it’s one of my favorite ads of the Superbowl. The bad had Bar Refaeli and Walter to show off a visual representation of Go Daddy’s smart/sexy sides. It’s not an awful ad but I don’t find it effective.
Now onto the Big 3
These are the three ads that everyone is saying were the best and I am inclined to agree, I do have to say I have a soft spot for ads that have emotion behind them.
Jeep
This ad is beautiful. It’s an ode to soldiers that is voiced over by Opra. The title is “Whole Again” and it really pounds home the fact that for America to be whole again the families of soldiers who are stationed abroad need to come home. And of course they will be brought home likely by a Jeep. The great thing about this ad is that it is right inline with what Chrysler (owner of Jeep) has been doing the past two years at the Superbowl, it talks about rebuilding America. Strong branding all across the board.
Dodge Ram
When I first saw this ad I didn’t like it (granted I wasn’t sober) then I watched it again and it’s really a work of art. In case people missed it Dodge used this poem for the purposes of using the word “Farmer” as a metaphor for Dodge Ram. However, it’s also an ode to Farmers as well because I am sure if you look in their Market Research there is a surplus of Dodge Ram owners that are Farmers. Farming is referred to as the backbone of America so this ode on this kind of a stage is long overdue. Well done.
Budweiser
This is easily my favorite ad of the Superbowl. It’s called “Brotherhood” and it builds on their theme from last year of “togetherness” with their tagline of “Grab Some Buds.” No tagline was used, just Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” and a visual story that’s sort of a modern day Warhorse. I seem to always watch it when cutting onions, these damn onions. There’s also a call to action that has viewers name the baby Clydesdale in the commercial via Twitter. The great thing about this commercial is it’s what branding truly is. Budweiser had gotten away from the Clydesdale commercials for a couple years and now they, much like the horse breeder in this commercial are reunited with them. Great job.