The traditionalism of seeing a new commercial for the first time on Super Bowl Sunday is now over. Super Bowl commercials are no longer about winning on the big day. Advertisers now look to win an entire month.
Marketing professionals and advertisers continue to refine their game around the big game. This year online chatter about the Super Bowl commercials was at an all-time high thanks to the sneak-peeks, pre-releases, teasers and ads about the ads. We also saw brands that advertised during the Super Bowl drop specific references to Facebook and Twitter in favor of the hashtag because it applies to multiple networks.
Some folks thought the teasers were better than the ads themselves, and Newcastle, which attracted a lot of Internet buzz for its online commercial, didn’t even play it during the big game.
Another interesting marketing tactic involved Esurance – an online car insurance company. Esurance opted for the first post-Super Bowl ad, and received a strong response from consumers with more than 2.1 million tweets via the #EsuranceSave30 hashtag. The Esurance ad promoted a $1.5 million giveaway, or 30 percent discount the company saved by running the ad after, rather than during, the game.
From Muppets to puppies, more than 111 million viewers enjoyed creative commercials during the Super Bowl in households across America. In fact, despite the lopsided score, the game was the most-watched television show in U.S. history.
Here’s a roundup of ten Super Bowl XLVIII commercials that we thought had some creative juices flowing.
10. U2 – “Invisible” – The rock band partners with (RED) and Bank of America, creatively strengthening the relationship with fans and viewers by using the ad to release their latest song and also benefit a greater good.
9. Budweiser – More puppies … and their ability to lead horses (grab the tissues)
8. Heinz – Hitting the bottle. Welcome back to the big game, Heinz, after a 16-year hiatus. Your pregame hype needs some help. There were only 17,000 views on YouTube at kickoff, but that number jumped to 115,000 on Monday morning. I know of a great PR firm to help you with the pregame effort next year.
7. Kia – Flashback to 1999 with an opera-singing Morpheus, but no Neo? Maybe Keanu Reeves will be available for a sequel next year.
6. Microsoft – “Empowering Us All” – featuring NST client, San Diego-based Challenged Athletes Foundation. Five-year-old Braylon O’Neill, his family and doctors use Microsoft technology to walk, run and play sports.
5. Cheerios – Gracie negotiates getting a new puppy. This one scored well with consumers and had more than two million hits on YouTube prior the Super Bowl and 3.5 million views by Monday morning.
4. Coca Cola – A kid playing football and drinking Coke. Another shout-out for the ‘90s with House of Pain’s “Jump Around” as the theme song. Much appreciated.
3. T-Mobile – Tim Tebow doesn’t need an NFL contract when he is busy saving puppies.
2. Dannon Oikos – “The Big Spill” – Ringing in the ‘90s, again, with the Full House gang getting back together.
1. Doritos – “Time Machine” – The tortilla chip producer’s Super Bowl commercial contest allowed amateurs to submit an ad and viewers were allowed to vote on the ads online for the month leading up to the Super Bowl. The commercial receiving the most votes received won $1 million and a 30-second slot during the big game. Nice work Raj Suri. Your ad just made you a millionaire and cost only $300 to make.
Did you catch any clever marketing tricks? Let us know your thoughts!
