Advertising during the Super Bowl broadcast has become such a part of our nation’s culture that we should recognize the day after the Super Bowl as an advertising holiday.
Let’s go with David Ogilvy Day, since he’s often called the Father of Advertising.
The Super Bowl 50 ads had the usual combination of memorable, forgettable and serviceable ads, similar to plays in the game.
Advertisers spent $5 million on the ad time, plus a substantial amount writing, creating and producing the commercials.
The winners achieved all three of the requirements of a successful Super Bowl ad:
■ Focus on one big idea that resonates with your key target audience
■ Make an emotional impact
■ Create both visual and audible memories
The NFL’s “Super Bowl Babies” ad will probably be the most remembered and referenced in future years.
The ad featured people conceived when their parents’ favorite team won the Super Bowl. Teams of Super Bowl babies sang along with Seal to his hit song “Kiss From a Rose.” The ad pulls at the heart strings, created a buzz and is memorable.
Doritos was the big humor winner with “Ultrasound,” featuring a husband eating Doritos during his wife’s ultrasound. Dad realizes the baby is following along with the movement of the Dorito as he chomps away. When Mom throws a chip toward her feet, the baby reacts with an early arrival, to the amazement of Dad, Mom and ultrasound technician.
Amazon Echo’s ads featuring Alec Baldwin, Dan Marino, Missy Elliott and other celebrities win the “blocking and tackling” award, to use a football analogy. Amazon spread the word about the Echo’s features to a huge audience with ads that got the job done.
Skittles’ Steven Tyler ad ties in well with the overall Skittles messaging. I’d give it a B grade. Not a classic, but good enough because of its consistency to the core Skittles branding theme.
“Heinz Meet the Ketchups” ad features dauchshunds in hot dog costumes running toward people dressed as Heinz ketchup, mustard and barbecue sauce. The dogs jump on the people and lick away. The ad brings a smile and educates the audience on the many Heinz flavors.
I thought Mountain Dew’s “PuppyMonkeyBaby” ad asked the audience to think, which is not a good thing during Super Bowl watching. The overall premise is sound, and with repeated views the ad might resonate more, possibly even gaining some catch phrase traction. But for a one time view in the game, I don’t rank it in the top tier.
Some ads probably resonated with their target market, but not so much with the larger audience. The Christopher Walken Kia ad makes sense to the older audience, while the TJ Miller Shock Top Beer probably resonated with the beer’s 20-something target market.
Reaching your core audience is the most important thing to the advertiser, so Kia and Shock Top Beer can still consider their Super Bowl investment a success.
