OK, what was more boring on Super Bowl Sunday? The game or the ads?
Unless you were a Denver Bronco fan or somehow so devoted to Coldplay you couldn’t see past their less-than-super performance, the game and its trappings likely bored you. Super Bowl 50 never seemed to get into a rhythm, between the challenges, the penalties, the botched plays, the halftime show, and the seemingly endless commercial breaks. Even Beyonce looked bored.
But the one saving grace of Super Bowls these past many years has ironically been the ads. People who have no interest in football attend parties and look forward to seeing the commercials, often eclipsing the game itself. Between the ginormous audience and the attention that both the media and fans pay to the ads, the host network has been able to command millions for the privilege of having presence in “The Big Game.”
People often have a greater sense of anticipation for the commercials than they do the game. And yet in recent years, we somehow seem to be entering a phase where even those lovable Budweiser commercials just don’t seem to do it for us anymore. While many websites grade the Super Bowl ads, an overriding assessment of these $5 million commercials is that few truly captured our imagination, made us laugh, or got our mind off Cam Newton sacks or Peyton Manning balloon passes.
Why is this?
Have we seen just about everything in past Super Bowl ads over the years to a point where it’s nearly impossible to wow us? Are we that jaded? Is it possible all those agency creative types simply can’t amaze us anymore?
Or is it that the element of surprise has gone missing from Super Bowl ads?
It used to be that many of these commercials seemed bigger than life, heart-tugging, outrageous, or downright funny. But was part of their impact due to the fact that we were sitting in our living rooms, gathered with an audience of friends and family, and actually surprised by what we were seeing?
If you remember seeing the famous Apple “1984” ad, no one had the chance to preview it on YouTube during the previous weeks. That was a big contributor to what made it surprising, over the top, and impactful. The world saw it for the very first time in the Super Bowl and no one knew what was coming.
In today’s world of multi-level marketing, social sharing, and device saturation, you couldn’t miss many of these commercials in the days and even weeks before last Sunday’s game. We blogged about a couple of these ads the previous week – Death Wish Coffee and the Acura NSX. They were out there for everyone to see and share.
It makes you wonder whether part of the letdown is due to the fact that seeing these commercials during a long game is like sitting through TV summer reruns or even Star Wars: The Force Awakens for a second time. You feel like you’ve seen it all before.
MNI Targeted Media’s Creative Services Manager, Aron Caruso, called it a few weeks ago in a blog post titled “The Big Lame: Previously Aired Commercials During Super Bowl Are Incredibly Disappointing.”
In the rush to squeeze every impression out of these mega-campaigns, are marketers beating the spontaneity and fun out of the process?
While pundits dutifully rate the roster of Super Bowl ads as winners or losers of a bigger-than-life advertising competition that once captivated us, whether the game or the halftime show was any good or not, we now are leaning back on couches and recliners hoping the snacks and drinks continue to be replenished, checking our watches in the third quarter, wondering what time we’ll actually get to go home. The commercials used to be amusing and even captivating during the game. Now they’re just there.
What can we in radio learn about a lackluster game that should have been a milestone in Super Bowl History – after all, it was the 50th game in the series?
- You can over-plan and prepare. Like a radio show that is over-benchmarked, everything is a bit less fun, spontaneous, and exciting when you know it’s coming.
- The element of surprise truly matters. There is so much content in front of our eyes and ears, and so many ways to consume it that the only thing that captures our attention is a jolt to the status quo. Like Donald Trump.
- The size of an ad budget is no indication of the quality of the programming or marketing. The Super Bowl continues to prove that just having a lot of money is no guarantee of results. When the ante is $4-5 million just to get a seat at the table, the pressure is most definitely intense, and many creative teams just can’t take the heat.
- You can only go to the well so many times. Whether it’s Clydesdales or other gimmicks, there’s a limit. This even proved out during the halftime show. Bruno Mars is amazing, but two years in a row?
However, one thing about Super Bowl advertising has remained consistent. While they may not have been the funniest or most compelling commercials during the game, the presence of Classic Rock artists, songs, and references continues to loom large. The NFL may be gravitating away from Bruce, Sir Paul, and the Stones for its halftime shows, but marketers continue to tap the nostalgia phenomenon, often to the delight of fans of multiple generations.
We’ve already mentioned the Acura/NSX Van Halen ad.
Here’s the Honda Ridgeline commercial featuring the ovine version of Queen’s “Somebody To Love” as the soundtrack:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTaCT8ZmdJA
Email recipients: click here to watch Honda’s ad
And here’s how Skittles used Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and “Dream On” to connect with candy lovers of all ages:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21ivbtgqJkg
Email recipients: click here to watch Skittles’s ad
And finally, even the late David Bowie got a respectful nod from Audi in a nice spot for their over-the-top R8:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diU_09jb4bI
Email recipients: click here to watch Audi’s ad
What can you say about the fact so many savvy advertisers used Classic Rock to set the tone for their commercials?
It was NOT a surprise.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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With creativity on hold, Classics Connect. Thanks, Fred.
Thanks, Clark!
I’m not sure the correct people are creating and approving these ads, Fred. What’s the target demo for Apartments.com? (One study I read said 51% of apartment dwellers are under 30 and 74% are under 44.) And the ad featured 63-year-old actor Jeff Goldblum and the theme from a sitcom that was launched in 1975? And, oh yeah, it wasn’t compelling. Not even a cameo from hip hopper Lil Wayne could save the poor concept from finishing 29th on USA Today’s AdMeter rankings for Super Bowl 50 spots. And, by the way, the only factor that prevented it from ending up far lower was its top rating with 65+ viewers, who scored it WAY higher than younger demos.
Who’s in charge of these ad campaigns? The same people who decide that Johnny Manziel or Jay Cutler would be a wise draft choice?
Dave, good points all. I think that marketers representing deep-pocketed clients look at the Super Bowl as a catch-all event that reaches everybody. As you suggest, it might have been far more efficient to run that same Apartments.com ad on Adult Swim – with a YouTube star as talent. Thanks for the insights and the comment.