Super Bowl LIV has come and went. The Kansas City Chiefs came out victorious in a come behind victory against the San Francisco 49ers. Unfortunately being a New York Giants fan, this game didn’t have too much interest to me in terms of on-field results. However, as an individual in the marketing industry, the NFL Super Bowl is a marketer’s “championship game” in terms of the analyzing the top companies’ ads.
What Makes A Good Super Bowl Ad?
Memory. Memory. Memory. The Super Bowl is almost three hours long, probably the longest sporting event of the year. Every commercial break is a battlefield for companies to attract the attention of their audience. An average person will see a commercial during the first quarter and totally forget about it by the time the game ends. Often times, we forget what the ad was even promoting. The successful advertisers create the advertisement that’ll stick in your mind, clearly demonstrate their product offering and have you talking about it the next day at the watercooler.
Companies have been getting more innovative on how they utilize their 30-second timeslot. In the past, companies relied heavily on creating a laugh for example Lay’s and their Doritos commercials. More recently, companies have been opting for using more polarizing figures advocating their product or addressing highly controversial issues in the world landscape. During Super Bowl LIV, celebrities such as Lebron James were used by GMC to promote their new electric Hummer. Secret Deodorant used Carli Lloyd to address the issue of women’s equality. Either way, these three methods are great for creating a narrative, whether positive or negative, and they’re very memorable.
Two companies stood out to me during Super Bowl 46.
Tom Brady’s Big Announcement Ad
This was the best commercial of the entire Super Bowl. However, you needed a little bit of a backstory to understand what was happening. Right now there is speculation on the next move for the New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. The quarterback has remained quiet and taken steps such as cleaning out his private suite at Gillette Stadium which can be perceived that he is retiring or leaving the Patriots.
TB12 in the days leading up to the Super Bowl even Instagrammed a black and white photo of himself walking onto an NFL Stadium Field contributing more to the speculation.
Then Hulu played this ad during the Super Bowl.
Tom Brady dropped an atomic bomb saying that he isn’t going anywhere while also promoting Hulu’s entrance into live television.
Hulu effectively captured the attention of millions of football fans in a matter of 30 seconds. This was a highly successful super bowl ad.
Tide – Laundry Now or Later Ad
Tide hit a home run during the Super Bowl. We all have that fear of missing out. The Super Bowl is no stranger to that notion. A bathroom can lead you to miss out on the big play or the funny commercial. Tide took this idea and ran.
Charlie Day was in the middle of a Super Bowl party and accidentally got his shirt covered with dip sauce. His anxiety began to take over because he didn’t want to miss the game and was asking everyone around about when he should do his laundry, “now or later”.
The best part of this commercial was on-going throughout the Super Bowl. The Charlie Day character appeared in other commercials asking whether it was the right time to do laundry. It created a memorable effect that gets lost during the Super Bowl.
Conclusion
The Super Bowl serves me in two ways. I like watching football and I work in Marketing so I’m always analyzing the way companies are advertising. In my opinion, the marketing winners of Super Bowl LIV were Hulu and Tide.
Be sure to read more about why I think the NHL is ruined.
