The Rise of Malleable Brands
Monday, February 4, 2008
Super Bowl XLII reveals brands in-flux, searching for meaning, making a case for their own relevancy, and showing just how flexible they can be with the new consumer.
Tag: Super Bowl
Davis Thinking
Dove’s Men + Care Spot is No Beauty
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
We recently voiced optimism that the Super Bowl launch of Dove's Men+Care line would challenge the alpha male ad genre, just as its revolutionary Real Beauty spot from Super Bowl XL confronted unhealthy female beauty standards. On Sunday, our optimism swirled its sad little way down the drain.
CBS: Classic Super Bowl Coverage, at a Price
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Every year, in the weeks leading up to Super Bowl, we learn whose ads passed network muster and whose didn't. This year, CBS generated lively debate by green-lighting Focus on the Family's pro-life spot, while rejecting an ad from gay dating site ManCrunch.com. Much has already been written about CBS's implied endorsement of one "life choice" over another. But few question why slow-to-evolve CBS failed to capture a fraction of the value its platform created for either organization.
Super Bowl Ads: Tell Me Who Are You?
Monday, February 8, 2010
Legendary television producer Norman Lear often said it was best to start the story "in the middle." That's where the truth of the narrative is, and the theory held for Super Bowl XLIV. Smack in the middle of a confused and confusing collection of ads was The Who, an embarrassing half-time show of old white men singing of "pinball wizards" in the age of connected gaming, and claiming some distant insight into the "teenage wasteland" of a generation to which they do not belong. Yet, they were entirely relevant context for the general fiasco of this year's ads, asking: "Tell me who are you?" With some notable exceptions, advertisers seemed to have no idea who they were this year, nor who their customers might be.
15 Million Unemployed Get Beaver Shots, Wedgies from Monster and CareerBuilder
Monday, February 8, 2010
Last year, the economy in free fall, I expected both Monster and CareerBuilder to forego the silly punchlines and offer a clear message of help and hope to the millions of unemployed Americans watching the Super Bowl. I was disappointed. This year, the jobless number nearing 15 million, I tuned in certain they'd finally get it right. That the employment experts would share their most inspiring success stories: The father of four who, laid off after 15 years at the same company, found new opportunity through Monster. Or the young college grad who, thanks to Careerbuilder, discovered an obscure field to which she could apply her highly specialized degree. Instead we got beaver-fiddling and tighty-whities -- proof these job search emperors have no clothes.
Easin' on Down the Road, or Dreaming in the Poppy Fields?
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
GE spends $3 million to bring Oz’s scarecrow to life in a Super Bowl spot riddled with future tense. Silly CGI. No real details. The message: efficiency through intelligence. Someday. Two weeks later, Google uploads a video to its Youtube channel. A new product, described in simple language by Google engineers and clearly connected to the brand through a compelling quote. Real data, real benefit - in percentages and dollars. The message: efficiency through intelligence. Today.
Roses are Red, Tulips are Bastards...
Monday, February 9, 2009
It’s hard to overstate how off-target TeleFlora’s Valentine’s Day spot is, both in concept and context.
The Boss At His Best
Friday, February 6, 2009
If you’ve ever had the privilege of seeing Bruce Springsteen perform live, you know that it’s unlike any other live show. It’s not just a concert, it’s chemistry. Jon Stewart once said, “Do you like joy? If you do, you should go and see Bruce Springsteen.” Unfortunately, this did not translate to home viewers of the Super Bowl halftime show.
You've Been a Dirty, Dirty Gourd...
Thursday, February 5, 2009
This week we’ve discussed a few Super Bowl standouts, good and bad. But what of the ads that didn’t make the cut? PETA doesn’t shy away from extreme antics, from flinging paint to flashing skin. This year’s Super Bowl submission was no different. Borrowing a page from Victoria’s Secret, a few of PETA’s leggy veggies turned up the heat and brought some serious steak-free sizzle.
The Springsteen Halftime Show: Not So Boss
Thursday, February 5, 2009
I love me some Bruce Springsteen. With the E Street Band or without, it’s all good. I’ve seen him perform live eight times and look forward to seeing him again in April. If you’ve ever had the privilege of seeing Bruce and E Street perform, you know what I mean when I say that it is unlike any other live show. It’s not just a concert. It’s chemistry. It’s three hours of energy and synergy. It changes you. That said, I have thought about his Super Bowl halftime show probably more than the average Jane, and definitely more than necessary.
Sometimes a Beer is Just a Beer
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
For those who think TeleFlora’s verbally abusive bouquet delivered the most offensive lines of the Super Bowl, behold the purple prose of Heineken’s Warrior...
IHOP’s Rooty Tooty Fresh and Fruity Gets Whacked
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
This morning, February 3, Denny’s is treating America to breakfast. Seriously.
Talk to Me Baby
Monday, February 2, 2009
I spent last night in front of my laptop on Twitterbowl and in front of NBC. As NBC rolled out a fairly conventional game presentation (tell me again why are there fireworks digitally exploding behind the announcers?) tweets were coming in fast and furious from all over the world.
Superbowl XLIII: We’ve Been Too Long American Dreaming
Monday, February 2, 2009
When we’re really lost in America—when we’re completely baffled and no one has any answers—we revert to cars and rock n’ roll. That’s the read one might get from this year’s superfluous battle between the Steelers and the Cardinals. But what started as an escapist yearning for the Fast and the Furious, Mr. Potato Head hugging mountain curves on Bridgestone tires, and Bruce Springsteen rehashing “Born to Run” and “Glory Days” gave way to what might be interpreted as a subconscious unrest over America’s second Great Depression.
Hyundai: Korean for Good Strategy
Monday, February 2, 2009
For the most part, this year’s Super Bowl ads were lackluster at best (Deja vu. I think I wrote the same sentence last year). Bridgestone’s Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head spot was cute and funny if you ignored the misogynistic overtones. And the Ed McMahon/MC Hammer spot for Cash4Gold.com was simultaneously amusing and terribly depressing. But perhaps one of the most notable things about this year’s ad slots was what was missing. No Big Three. And Hyundai took advantage.
Take This Job and Shove It?
Sunday, February 1, 2009
While likely to score high on the favorites lists, Careerbuilder and Monster's Super Bowl fare missed a real opportunity to shoot straight with the American people. More than 100,000 Americans lost their jobs this week, yet both organizations once again positioned their sites as resources for disenchanted and disrespected workers looking for more rewarding careers.
Superbowl XLII: American Zeitgeist
Monday, February 4, 2008
Even if you’re the sort of rarified American sportstard who thought all last year that Tom Brady was somehow associated with a 70’s sitcom, you still should succumb to the spectacle of the Super Bowl.
Most Super Bowl Advertisers Get a Spanking from Mom
Monday, February 4, 2008
Last week, NPR aired a piece about how Super Bowl advertisers were making an effort to target women more than ever this year, particularly in light of the WGA strike. Companies are hurting for ways to get to us. Cool, I thought, thank you for seeing us over here, making up 40 percent of viewership. And would this mean a shortage of obnoxious fart and boob jokes? Ah, the possibilities.
Super Bowl Ads Do More than Sell Stuff
Monday, February 4, 2008
The underlying cultural significance of Super Bowl advertising.
At Issue } essential reading
Three Lessons for Social TV
Feb 8, 2012
You may have noticed something was missing throughout the nation's most social sporting event of the year. The Super Bowl in-game broadcast had zero social media TV integration. With more than a billion people on Facebook and Twitter alone, many of them watching the game, this was a missed opportunity. Why did NBC and the NFL miss the boat?
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Hulu And TiVo Announce Top Super Bowl Commercials, But Where’s The Tech?
Feb 6, 2012
Of course, in the wrap up of every Super Bowl, the people want to get a taste of which commercials were the most popular. This morning Hulu released its list of winners, and it looks like nostalgia took the blue ribbon. Of the ads that ran during game time, Honda’s “Matthew’s Day Off” (a Ferris Bueller tribute) just narrowly edged out Volkswagen’s “The Dog Strikes Back,” with the “most liked” ad on Hulu AdZone being Volkswagen’s “The Bark Side” preview ad.
I Paid $4 Million for This?
Feb 3, 2012
Super Bowl ad prices have risen faster than inflation or viewership. Can they really be worth it? The most-expensive 30-second slot during this weekend’s Super Bowl cost a shocking $4 million. That’s a hundred-fold increase in the inflation-adjusted average price of a spot since Super Bowl I in 1967. Even at the recent 2010 low point, ads sold for $2.65 million, up more than 20 percent from where they stood in 2000. What drives increases of this scale, and how can it possibly make sense for companies to pay such sky-high prices?
Know Your Teammates: Leadership Lessons from the Super Bowl Quarterbacks
Feb 2, 2012
Tom Brady and Eli Manning will square off this Super Bowl Sunday as the two quarterbacks tasked with leading their teams to a championship. Brady and Manning both possess many leadership and athletic qualities that have led them to the top of their sport and to this game. However, one of the primary skills of each of these quarterbacks is an in-depth knowledge of his teammates, and in particular the receivers who are supposed to be on the other end of the quarterback’s passes. That knowledge allows these two elite quarterbacks to play at the highest level and make the people around them better, which is an essential leadership skill in football or business.
How to Sound Smart During the Big Game
Feb 2, 2012
Because you work in advertising or media, a little more is expected of you when it comes to Super Bowl advertising knowledge. It's not enough to mindlessly chuckle along with the masses at the CareerBuilder monkeys or Volkswagen's body-image-obsessed canine. You need to be able drop some serious knowledge on this, advertising's biggest day, whilst juggling a microbrew and a plate of nachos.
How USA Today's Ad Meter Broke Super Bowl Advertising
Jan 30, 2012
When Ridley Scott created Apple's iconic "1984," the company's board didn't want it to air. Newly hired CEO John Sculley, veteran of many a Super Bowl ad as CEO of Pepsi-Cola Co., agreed with the consensus: It's a waste to run an ad that doesn't even show the product. Apple ended up selling off some of its planned Super Bowl ad time and ran "1984" in the 60-second slot it couldn't unload. The rest, as they say, is history. The Macintosh did change the world as Steve Jobs said it would, and Apple is the most valuable company on the planet. The commercial also ushered in an era in Super Bowl advertising that we still inhabit: the ad as entertainment. That we expect ads during the Super Bowl to be as entertaining as the game itself can largely be traced back to "1984." But if that were the end of the story, we'd all still be watching high-concept minimovies directed by auteurs that made us think or feel different
Why Internal Culture Is Much More Important than Employee Social Media Guidelines
Jan 30, 2012
When Ridley Scott created Apple's iconic "1984," the company's board didn't want it to air. Newly hired CEO John Sculley, veteran of many a Super Bowl ad as CEO of Pepsi-Cola Co., agreed with the consensus: It's a waste to run an ad that doesn't even show the product. Apple ended up selling off some of its planned Super Bowl ad time and ran "1984" in the 60-second slot it couldn't unload. The rest, as they say, is history. The Macintosh did change the world as Steve Jobs said it would, and Apple is the most valuable company on the planet.
VW Finds Viral Force With Cute Ad, but So What?
Feb 7, 2011
Me, I got my Valentine early: I didn't have to watch the Super Bowl ads this year until, you know, the Super Bowl. It was fannnnnntastic. I got to experience the game like a normal slob, with a lap full of taco dip and genuine curiosity about how unfunny the Bud Light spots would be this year. It fell to my colleague Ken Wheaton to harvest the crop ahead of time.
Groupon Makes Big Bid on Traditional TV, Buys Super Bowl Pregame
Jan 10, 2011
Groupon may not need Google to grow. But it does need some good, old-fashioned advertising.
Why Marketing's Big Guns Are Winging Their Way to Las Vegas
Jan 4, 2011
The slow collision and then merger of media and tech has been underway for more than a decade, and it's playing out again at the Consumer Electronics Show, which has become a required stop for media, agencies and, increasingly, brands. For tech brands such as Intel, Microsoft, Sony and Samsung, this is the Super Bowl, but non-tech marketers are playing too, in part because, well, there really is no such thing as a non-tech brand.
PepsiCo to Air Six Consumer-Created Ads During Super Bowl
Sep 15, 2010
Five years after its original “Crash the Super Bowl” contest, Doritos is once again inviting consumers to create :30 commercials for the tortilla chip maker to run during the Super Bowl. Parent company Pepsico has also extended the promotion to its Pepsi Max brand, offering up even more chances for contestants to have their ads aired during the year’s most heavily televised football game on February 6.
GM’s Big Idea
Aug 9, 2010
GM plans to make a big splash on next year's Super Bowl, which I find surprising and disappointing. It's a surprise because it's such a dumb idea. Ads on the Super Bowl are a rarefied group intended to one-up one another with creative and/or sleaze (or both). It's a big viewership event, for sure, but brands have to pay big time for the privilege of exposure while dumbing down the marketing content so there's any hope of breaking through the clutter. Super Bowl ads are reviewed and remembered as advertising, not meaningful communication. GM use to waste money on it back when it used to waste money on everything. It was a dumb idea then, and it's still a dumb idea now...for any brand.
Denny’s Takes Super Bowl Time-Out
Jun 15, 2010
The biggest recent highlight for the Denny’s restaurant brand was its 2010 Super Bowl campaign marking the return of its free Grand Slam breakfast on your birthday promotion. It was also, as it turns out, the last hurrah for Denny's CEO Nelson Marchioli.
Effort To Integrate Madison Avenue Turns to Super Sunday
May 6, 2010
A long-running attempt to bring more racial diversity to the advertising industry is shining a spotlight on the biggest day of the year for advertising — Super Bowl Sunday — in an effort to bring its arguments to life. The Madison Avenue Project, as the diversity initiative is called, held a news conference on Wednesday morning to release the results of a study of the commercials that ran during Super Bowl XLIV on Feb. 7. According to the study, of the 52 spots during the game that were produced by major advertising agencies, the lead creative director in every instance was white.
Doritos, Your Ad Sucks Compared to this One
Feb 19, 2010
You've probably seen the Doritos Super Bowl commercial that scored highest among viewers. What does this Doritos ad do? Now imagine you're a writer, and you get this assignment: write a memorable safety belt ad. You've seen them. They're usually violent, ugly spots about how you'll end up terribly mangled if you don't wear a safety belt. What do you do? Do you work on outdoing other writers in the twisted metal department?
Marketers: Go For Gold-Medal Branding
Feb 14, 2010
The Super Bowl is all over but the shouting--about the advertising, that is--and the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver are about to begin. Marketing critics, reboot your engines. And when you do, here's something to think about: As many of us saw during the Super Bowl, branding that's incrementally innovative won't move the meter, just as tried and true efforts executed without flair will fall flat.
Beyond The Super Bowl
Feb 11, 2010
As the post-Super Bowl analysis turned this week from which team won the big game to which brands won big, we were once again reminded of the Super Bowl's role as the year's single most important advertising. While the commercials have understandably been the focus of conversation over the past several days, the Super Bowl also offers online marketers some important lessons that help illustrate the changing media dynamics taking place.
Dove Super Bowl Spot Scores Initial Points With Men
Feb 10, 2010
When Unilever first announced it was launching its new Dove Men + Care line with a commercial during Super Bowl XLIV, industry watchers questioned whether making a costly, 30-second ad buy was the right strategy. It seems the move has paid off for Dove, at least, according to initial ad buzz results. Prior to CBS’ broadcast of the Super Bowl, three of the most popular terms associated with Dove were “soap,” “beauty” and “deodorant.” But in the 24 hours following the game, the Dove spot, via Ogilvy & Mather, started generating terms like “Super Bowl,” “ad” and “men," per Zeta Interactive, a New York City-based digital and interactive marketing agency.
Super Bowl: A Missed Opportunity For Pepsi
Feb 10, 2010
PepsiCo ditched the Super Bowl this year to make a major social media play. Instead of spending money for ad time on the Super Bowl, it's relying primarily on digital initiatives to spread the word about its Internet-based Refresh Project contest and charity campaign. The cause-marketing effort is a good one. Word is spreading through traditional media, online networks, social media and celebrity chatter. But I believe Pepsi made a big mistake in giving up its long-held Super Bowl ad real estate. A more integrated media approach--one that included the Super Bowl--would be a savvy play for Pepsi. And such integration is something top marketing executives need to keep in mind in their rush to embrace digital initiatives.
Just How Popular Was Google's Super Bowl Ad, Anyway?
Feb 9, 2010
Occasionally the disconnect between conversation on the web and, well, real conversation, becomes abundantly clear. Take the Super Bowl. As you've no doubt heard, Google ran an ad in the third quarter, which wouldn't be remarkable except that Google never advertises on TV (except a few cable spots for its web browser Chrome last spring) and it had rarely done any brand advertising to consumers.
Do-It-Yourself Super Ads
Feb 9, 2010
Be afraid, Madison Avenue. Be very afraid. That seems to be the message in the aftermath of the crowded, frenetic advertising bowl that took place inside Super Bowl XLIV on Sunday. Among those commercials consistently deemed most effective, memorable and talked-about, many were created or suggested by consumers — or produced internally by the sponsors — rather than the work of agency professionals.
Manthems, Delusions, and Other Super Gaffes
Feb 9, 2010
If you’ve been in the business long enough, you come to understand there are some basic rules to follow when running an ad on the Super Bowl. Humor works best. Use animals or big-breasted women – or both. Wow people with extraordinary settings and production values. Many of the advertisers on last night’s big game followed the Super Bowl advertising playbook to a tee. And, yet, they violated some fundamental rules of advertising in general.
Doritos Wins Super Bowl Web Buzz Battle
Feb 8, 2010
From tweets to texts, consumers weighed in on which Super Bowl ads were the best, with Doritos coming out on top in several measures. The flood of seat-of-the-pants opinions aired via status updates on Facebook and Twitter has changed the traditional Monday morning quarterbacking of Super Bowl ads. More traditional methods like USA Today's Super Bowl Ad Meter consumer poll have been joined by newer measures based on Web buzz.
Monday Morning Marketing Quarterback: Which Superbowl Ads Scored On The Web?
Feb 8, 2010
With the Super Bowl yesterday came the time-honored Super Bowl commercials, each costing $2.5 million for a 30-second spot. Even Google got in on the game with its first ever spot receiving rave reviews (although the commercial wasn’t new). But which commercials went beyond TV to score on the Web? Reprise Media released a report that ranks Super Bowl advertisers based on the level of integration between their television commercials and presence on the web in terms of search and social media. According to Reprise’s scorecard, Boost Mobile, Home Away,E*Trade and Google were the marketing standouts out of last night’s commercials.
Denny's, Doritos, Snickers Score Big in Ad Bowl
Feb 8, 2010
Panicky poultry, a battered Betty White and a series of violent ads for Doritos provided plenty of laughs during Sunday night's Super Bowl, even with the weak economy prompting several heavy-hitting advertisers to sit out the Big Game.
In Super Bowl Commercials, the Nostalgia Bowl
Feb 8, 2010
As dangerous as it may be to generalize, it is probably safe to say that few folks think of Marcel Proust as they watch the Super Bowl. But for the advertising bowl that took place inside Super Bowl XLIV on Sunday, it was one long remembrance of things past — with candy bars, mobile phones and beer bottles standing in for madeleines. Nostalgia is a critical component of the pitches from sponsors on Super Bowl Sunday. After all, the best way to appeal to a mass audience of 100 million or so Americans is usually to fill spots with paeans to the past along with catchy music, stars, special effects, talking babies and endearing animals.
Attention Big Brands, We Had a Blast on Twitter Last Nite, but Where Were You?
Feb 8, 2010
If you were on Twitter last night during the Super Bowl, you probably had a blast with the rest of us participating in all the chatter around the game, and the commercials. Many of us were using the #brandbowl hashtag to critique the ads in real-time, in fact I was seeing 100 new tweets coming in every couple of minutes. For reference, that's about FOUR times the volume of a busy #blogchat.
The Top None
Feb 8, 2010
I'd planned in all sincerity to write an essay about the three Super Bowl commercials that I thought wouldn't get the recognition in most "top ten" lists, but that I believed might actually do something business-wise down the road. I meant it. I wanted to be positive... ...but I just can't. I can't think of one spot that is going to matter after today's Monday morning ad quarterbacking is done.
Super Bowl 2010: Live-Blogging the Ads and the Music
Feb 8, 2010
Super Bowl 2010 is more than a football game–it’s a face-off between companies striving to have the most-talked about commercials. And the super spectacle will also be rocked by music from the Who, Carrie Underwood and Queen Latifah. Speakeasy will be live-blogging the cultural and commercial aspects of the Super Bowl. Feel free to give your take on the ads and the music in the comments section. You can check out the action on the field here.
Pizza Hut Gets Personal
Feb 5, 2010
Pizza Hut's first campaign from The Martin Agency centers on customer choice and a $10 promotion available only at "Your Pizza Hut." Three commercials breaking this Sunday on the CBS Super Bowl pre-game show feature customers talking about their pizza favorites and the great deals they get with "any pizza, any size, any crust and any topping" for $10.
Google To Super Bowl Marketers: Give Us Your Ads--and Your Ad Dollars
Feb 5, 2010
Charging into the Super Bowl for the first time, Kia Motors is discovering that buying a 30-second ad during the game, which will air on CBS this Sunday, is opening a few doors, namely a deeper relationship with a very big company: Google. Google is working closely with Kia and nearly all Super Bowl XLIV's 40 Super Bowl advertisers, offering them exposure far beyond the TV. The marketers that are paying up to $2.8 million for each 30-second spot can upload the ads on Google's Super Bowl Ad Blitz page, as they have in the past. But this year Google has added even more features including social media buttons that will make it easy for viewers to pass them along or "tweet" them on Twitter.
Super Bowl XLIV Ad Quiz: 30 Brands. 30 One-Second Ads. How Many Can You Spot?
Feb 5, 2010
Seventy-five thousand fans will jam into the Sun Life Stadium on Sunday to watch the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts compete for the Super Bowl ring. If you can't afford the obscene ticket price, you can join the other hundred million who will be in their living room or man cave glued to an HDTV with guacamole, chips and six pack in hand, cheering on their favorite... commercials.
Social Issues Lead Super Bowl Advertising Online Buzz
Feb 4, 2010
Ads for social advocacy issues planned for the Super Bowl are generating more marketing buzz than traditional brands in the lead up to the game, according to an analysis released today by The Nielsen Company. Ads for the pro-life organization “Focus on the Family” featuring college football star Tim Tebow and gay dating site ManCrunch earned some of the most pre-game buzz for their controversial subject matters.
People's Choice: Clydesdales Return To Super Bowl
Feb 4, 2010
Knock us over with a feather: The Budweiser Clydesdales will be in the Super Bowl after all. That shocking turn of events is the result of a lopsided Facebook fan vote in which fans chose a Clydesdale spot over two other Bud ads -- the horses nabbed 70% of the vote. The spot, from DDB, Chicago, will air during the fourth quarter of the game.
Will Pepsi Win The Super Bowl?
Feb 4, 2010
Just days before the Super Bowl, when media outlets are abuzz about all the commercials consumers can expect to see in the big game, the folks of Gastonia, N.C., a small town 25 miles west of Charlotte, are opening their newspapers to find an article about one company that will be sitting on the sidelines this year: Pepsi.
Super Bowl XLIV, Extra Bold
Feb 4, 2010
There is no Sunday like Super Bowl Sunday: The friends, the beer, the chips, the bets, the ads… and, oh yeah, the game. And just in case you were confused by this year’s Pro Bowl being played before the Super Bowl, heed the news, the Super Bowl is this Sunday in Miami, Florida with the New Orleans Saints playing the Indianapolis Colts. But aside from mentioning the obvious, let us turn our attention to the Super Logo, designed this season by Attik.
Is Diamond Foods Nuts For Squeezing 2 Brands Into 1 Ad?
Feb 3, 2010
Does $3 million for one 30-second spot sound like a lot of money to promote your brand during this year’s Super Bowl? Well, if you cram two of your products into one ad, like Diamond Foods is planning, then it’s only $1.5 million per brand.
Budweiser Urges Fans to Vote for Super Bowl Ad Via Facebook
Feb 3, 2010
This Super Bowl, it truly does seem that the name of the game when it comes to advertising is social media. For example, Budweiser recently launched a campaign on Facebook asking fans to choose which commercial will air during the big game. According to AdAge, Budweiser is this year’s biggest advertiser — privy to five minutes of air time. The beer company launched its social media campaign on Friday, and already thousands of people are taking part. The idea, essentially, is to infiltrate every level of Facebook (Facebook). First, you might see the targeted ad for the campaign in your newsstream (see the photo above). If you are so inclined to vote, you must first become a fan of the beer:
Hey, Go Daddy: Your Strategy Is Showing
Feb 2, 2010
Another Super Bowl, another press release from GoDaddy.com about how its "controversial" and "racy" commercial failed to make the grade among network censors. This year, the press release came more than a full week before the game, with the exhortation that: "We really thought we'd make it this time."
Super Bowl XLIV Gets An Official Hashtag: #SB44
Feb 2, 2010
This year the NFL wants you to “Tag the Super Bowl #SB44″ so that it can collect and aggregate tweets and Flickr photos from fans around the world. The NFL is highlighting the user-tagged Super Bowl content on its new Tag the Super Bowl site, which offers a visually stimulating and unfiltered interactive view of tweets and images that football fans are sharing on Twitter and Flickr with the #SB44 hashtag.
Super Bowl Shuffle: Why Marketers Will Shift to 'Platforms'
Feb 2, 2010
There certainly will be advertising winners (and losers) on Super Bowl Sunday but let's hope that the Monday morning quarterback chatter doesn't obscure the larger shift at hand for marketers this year. 2010 will be the year of the "platform" for advertisers. Unlike a website, banner, Facebook application or 30-second spot, a platform is an always-on digital environment that allows brands to run specific or multiple programs. The goal is to meaningfully engage consumers on multiple levels.
An Advocacy Ad Stirs a National Debate
Feb 2, 2010
For 43 years, Super Bowl viewers have watched all kinds of commercials from companies that are famous (Coca-Cola) or otherwise (Cash4Gold.com), peddling everything from automobiles to Xerox copiers. But never has there been a Super Bowl spot that took sides on a contentious social issue — until now. CBS, which will broadcast Super Bowl XLIV on Sunday, has sold 30 seconds of commercial time in the game to Focus on the Family, an evangelical organization known for conservative views on subjects like abortion and gay marriage. The commercial is to feature Tim Tebow, the college football star, and his mother, Pam, discussing their anti-abortion positions.
Middle-Aged Super Bowl Showing Its Paunch
Feb 2, 2010
Who would have thought we'd ever miss the days of the Budweiser talking frogs? The main advertising buzz around this year's Super Bowl has been CBS' inability to sell discounted time and the controversial advertisers who are taking advantage of the cheap rates. In the good old days of, say, five years ago, the Super Bowl meant three things to its 90 million viewers: football, partying and ads. At 44, the Game is beginning to show its middle-age paunch, with the media focusing on its problems, not its successes. Sounds more AARP than MTV!
Super Bowl Ad Time Is Sold Out, CBS Says
Feb 2, 2010
Ad time for the Super Bowl is sold out, according to the top ad-sales executive at CBS, the network broadcasting the contest this year on Feb. 7. "We're pacing ahead in terms of timing," said Jo Ann Ross, president-network sales, CBS Television Network. The last time CBS broadcast the event, in 2007, sell-out didn't happen until just days before kickoff, Ms. Ross said. CBS has sold the typical amount of ad inventory, she added -- "more than 60 and less than 70" 30-second spots.
Pepsi And Focus On The Family Most Buzzed-About Super Bowl Advertisers
Feb 1, 2010
While the Saints and the Colts get ready to flex their football muscle on the field, big brands are already battling for primetime social media attention. As it stands now, Pepsi and Focus on the Family are the most buzzed-about Super Bowl advertisers. Alterian used SM2, its social media monitoring service, to look at more than 50,000 conversations from the social web and break down the key advertiser pre-game highlights. The summary report of its findings is embedded below.
Pepsi Push Harnesses Facebook Potential
Feb 1, 2010
For the first time in 23 years, there will not be an advertisement for Pepsi during Super Bowl next weekend. Instead, PepsiCo, the soft drinks maker, which in previous years has wowed audiences with dazzling spots featuring Cindy Crawford and Britney Spears, is going online. With a $20m digital campaign that features its own website and a heavy presence on Facebook, PepsiCo is betting that a more interactive approach will resonate with consumers in the always-on age of social networking sites. "We're living in a new age with consumers," says Ralph Santana, vice-president of marketing for PepsiCo North America. "They are looking for more of a two-way dialogue, story-telling and word of mouth. Mediums like the digital space are much more conducive towards that."
Pepsi Invites the Public to Do Good
Feb 1, 2010
Decades ago, consumers were invited to “be sociable, have a Pepsi.” Now the brand wants to invite consumers to help Pepsi support social causes — and will use social media like Facebook and Twitter to help spread a message. Pepsi-Cola is formally introducing on Monday an ambitious campaign named the Pepsi Refresh Project, aimed at doing well by doing good. The brand is dedicating at least $20 million through the end of the year for donations to local organizations and causes proposed by the public in realms like health, arts and culture, the environment and education.
McDonald's Bets LeBron James Won't Be a Tiger
Feb 1, 2010
The multiyear partnership deal McDonald's signed last week with basketball star LeBron James is an early sign that the Tiger Woods debacle hasn't put marketers off celebrity endorsements altogether. But it does indicate that the landscape is subtly changing. McDonald's said Thursday that its new relationship with Mr. James will kick off with his appearance in a Super Bowl XLIV pregame commercial. The ad is a remake of "The Showdown," an iconic 1993 Super Bowl spot in which National Basketball Association legends Larry Bird and Michael Jordan sought to outdo each other with seemingly impossible shots to win a Big Mac.
Budweiser Responsive To Customers’ Clydesdales Concerns
Jan 29, 2010
“At the end of the day, the consumer is the boss,” said Anheuser-Busch's VP of Marketing, Keith Levy. Self-awareness is perhaps the most valuable of all brand attributes. And Budweiser is once again proving why it has remained in the American consciousness for so long: it listens. Then it takes action. Subsequently, consumers feel part of the brand – part of the brand experience – and loyalty ensues.
Gay Dating Site's Super Bowl Ad Rejected by CBS
Jan 29, 2010
Super Bowl network CBS rejected an ad Friday from ManCrunch.com, a gay dating Web site. "After reviewing the ad, which is entirely commercial in nature, our standards and practices department decided not to accept this particular spot," said CBS spokeswoman Shannon Jacobs. "We are always open to working with a client on alternative submissions." CBS said it turned down the ad partly for financial reasons, but ManCrunch believes that there's more to it than that.
Coke Unveils Integrated Super Bowl Platform
Jan 29, 2010
Coca-Cola is giving its Facebook fans an advance look at its twin Super Bowl commercials, and also using the social media platform to put its "Open Happiness" theme into action by enabling users to trigger charitable donations and pass "virtual gifts" on to friends. Starting now, each virtual Coca-Cola gift and commercial sneak-peek triggers a $1 donation by Coca-Cola to Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Gift recipients receive a special Coke bottle image that is displayed on their Facebook page and newsfeed to feed the viral gift-giving dynamic.
Snickers Will Try, Try Again With a Super Bowl Ad
Jan 28, 2010
Snickers wants to kiss and make up with Super Bowl viewers. The candy bar maker's parent, Mars Chocolate North America, today will announce plans for the brand to return as a Super Bowl telecast advertiser — three years after it raised the wrath of gay advocates by airing a Super Bowl spot that showed two male mechanics who accidentally kiss, then react with disgust. One thing's for certain: There won't be any men kissing men in the new ad. "No kissing at all," promises Carole Walker, vice president of integrated marketing. She says the commercial has been tested with a focus group of more than 1,000 people and has been approved by the company's CEO. "It has nothing that the gay community would find offensive," she says.
Coke Ties Facebook Charity Promotion to Super Bowl Ads
Jan 28, 2010
Pepsi is putting its Super Bowl ad dollars to work by helping communities and bypassing TV spots in the game. Coca-Cola is doing the same -- but using its Super Bowl advertising as a hook. During a press event at the Dunlevy Milbank Boys & Girls Club in Harlem, Coca-Cola detailed plans to donate up to $500,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, with half of the money raised through a Facebook program linked to the Super Bowl.
First And Goal: Rookie Marketers Seek Super Bowl Success
Jan 27, 2010
As the clock ticks toward Super Bowl XLIV, rookie marketers are looking to get their 15 minutes -- or, in this case, 30 seconds -- of fame by filling the remaining slots on CBS. The list of official first-time advertisers in the Big Game includes such heavy-hitters as Dr Pepper, Electronic Arts and Boost Mobile, in addition to HomeAway, Time Warner's Turner Broadcasting System TruTV and text-messaging answering service KGB. That already surpasses the number of rookies who appeared during NBC's broadcast of Super Bowl XLIII last February: Cash4Gold.com, Castrol, Denny's, Teleflora and Vizio.
Will Tim Tebow's Pro-Life Bowl Ad Kill His Potential as an Endorser?
Jan 27, 2010
University of Florida star and National Football League hopeful Tim Tebow might have just thrown a penalty flag on his own future marketing ability by appearing in an anti-abortion ad scheduled to air during the Super Bowl, say sports-marketing experts. In an era when most athletes rarely, if ever, delve into politics or social causes, Mr. Tebow will be appearing in a 30-second spot for the Colorado-based conservative Christian group Focus on the Family. The ad is expected to be pro-life themed, and is slated to air during CBS's Feb. 7 broadcast of Super Bowl XLIV from Miami.
Bud Light Goes for Gags at Big Game
Jan 27, 2010
Anheuser-Busch InBev NV will shelve its Bud Light "Drinkability" slogan during the Super Bowl in a bid to resuscitate the beer's sales with funnier commercials. It's even considering benching its famous Clydesdale horses during the game. Anheuser, the world's largest brewer by revenue, has bought five minutes of commercial time during the Feb. 7 football spectacular. It is expected to air several Bud Light ads with a newly created tagline, "Here we go." The line is meant to show that Bud Light is a "catalyst for a good time," says Keith Levy, Anheuser-Busch's vice president for marketing.
Tim Tebow Super Bowl Ad Already Creating Online Buzz
Jan 26, 2010
We’re still almost two weeks away from the Super Bowl – and all of its wannabe viral commercials – but at least one yet-to-be-seen ad is already capturing the imaginations of the Web: a pro-life spot featuring college football star Tim Tebow.
Hopefuls Gird for Gridiron
Jan 26, 2010
Buying Super Bowl ads has helped catapult companies like online brokerage E*Trade Financial, Internet job board Monster.com and video site Hulu into the public eye. That's why several little-known advertisers—including mobile pay-TV firm Flo TV, information provider KGB and vacation rental service HomeAway.com—are forking over millions of dollars to appear on this year's Big Game broadcast.
Miller High Life Goes Long(er), Bowl Spot Toasts Small Biz
Jan 26, 2010
Miller High Life won't be doing another one-second commercial for this year's Super Bowl. Instead, the brand will buy a 30-second spot -- but position it as being "given" to small businesses as a platform for them to tell their stories. Last year, the brand used pre-game teaser commercials starring its popular "deliveryman" (actor Windell Middlebrooks) to spread the word that it would be forgoing a standard-length commercial because spending $3 million was too much. (Due to the economy, 30-second rates are down to between $2.5 million and $2.8 million this year, according to TNS Media Intelligence.)
Intel Makes Super Bowl Comeback
Jan 25, 2010
After more than a decade, Intel returns to the Super Bowl this year to kick off a campaign for its 2010 Intel Core Processor, billed as its biggest product launch in five years. "A lot has changed in the past 13 years [since Intel's first Super Bowl campaign]. People are using computers in completely new and different ways," said Heather Dixon, Intel consumer marketing manager. "It's not just surfing the internet anymore; the No. 1 and No. 2 reasons now are social networking and videos."
Rivalries as Keen as on the Field
Jan 25, 2010
There is nothing like the big matchups at the Super Bowl as powerhouse players go head to head. For Madison Avenue, those fascinating face-offs have nothing to do with football; they pit marketers against one another in competitive categories like automobiles, credit cards, fast food and online services.
Dockers 'Men Without Pants' March to Super Bowl
Jan 22, 2010
Dockers will advertise during the Super Bowl for the first time since 2002. On Feb. 7, the apparel brand is breaking a new TV spot, which uses Shazam mobile technology to allow consumer interaction. The new 30-second ad, dubbed "Men Without Pants," is part of Dockers' ongoing "Wear the Pants" campaign, which launched in December. It will run during CBS's telecast of Super Bowl XLIV, and appropriately, will address men on the subject of modern masculinity. (The ad shows childish men marching and singing: "I Wear No Pants." The men are interrupted with a message: "Calling all men, it’s time to wear the pants.”)
Why Are Superbowl Ads Cheaper This Year?
Jan 21, 2010
It seems like everything I read about the reduction in price of Superbowl Ads blames the economy. But, could it be there is something bigger going on here? As we move from an economy based on scarcity (Superbowl ads are the very definition of a scarce commodity) to one based on abundance there other ways to have a more powerful and long lasting relationship at a reduced cost emerge.
Audi Aims For A Super Bowl Touchdown
Jan 21, 2010
Audi hopes luxury car buyers will tune in to Super Bowl XLIV. The $2.8 million price tag for a 30-second commercial is high, but the ability to reach 95 million people in one day is important to Audi. It's a shot at distinguishing the company from big competitors, at a time when car marketers--particularly the luxury players--are reeling. Audi's U.S sales slid 5.7% to 82,716 cars sold in 2009, compared to the year before, according to Autodata.
Foreign Auto Makers Suit Up for Super Bowl
Jan 21, 2010
Foreign car makers are marketing their vehicles more aggressively in the U.S., and are making the Super Bowl a high-profile part of their strategies for wresting market share from American rivals. On Feb. 7, tens of millions of football fans will see about a half-dozen auto commercials from at least four overseas manufacturers flicker across their TV screens during the big game. Last year, three auto makers, advertised on the Super Bowl broadcast.
Is Pepsi's Pass on Super Bowl an Offensive or Defensive Move?
Jan 5, 2010
The bound stacks of marketing and advertising magazines are filled with mentions of zig and zag. The marketer should zig when everyone else is zagging. Zig and zag, not coincidentally, are often put to the task of pulling the cart of increased ad spending. As in: Company X, instead of retreating during a recession, zigged when everyone else zagged, and spent more money on marketing. Full disclosure: I'm a student in that particular school of thought myself. But what happens to a marketer that zags when everyone else is zigging? We'll find out this year as PepsiCo, one of the annual big spenders in the Super Bowl, yanks all advertising for its beverage brands from the game.
Will Super Bowl Sponsors Stay In The Game?
Jan 4, 2010
Commercial spots for the NFL championship game are nearly sold out. But the Internet is changing the advertising market. With less than five weeks to go before the game, CBS has only four commercial spots left to sell during the Super Bowl broadcast -- demonstrating that advertisers once again will elbow each other to get into TV's biggest event of the year.
Pepsi Asks Crowds Which Community Projects to Fund
Dec 20, 2009
When the Super Bowl rolls around in another few weeks, there will be no fabulous ad for Pepsi beverages. Instead, Pepsi—which was the largest advertiser during the event last year—will be focusing its efforts on the Pepsi Refresh Project, a crowdsourced marketing effort to revamp U.S. communities.
Pepsi Benches Its Drinks
Dec 17, 2009
Snapping a 23-year streak on the gridiron, PepsiCo's beverages will sit out Super Bowl XLIV, as the soft-drink and snack giant puts its advertising muscle behind a new cause-related marketing program. The move is an about-face for Pepsi, which was the biggest advertiser on last year's broadcast of the big game and has long made the National Football League championship the centerpiece of its marketing strategy. Pepsi has used the event, TV's priciest showcase for ads, to launch splashy spots starring celebrities such as Britney Spears, Cindy Crawford and Ozzy Osbourne.
Pepsi May Play Second String In Super Bowl
Dec 14, 2009
PepsiCo is likely to give flagship Pepsi a diminished presence in the upcoming Super Bowl on CBS because the company fears the venue isn't a good fit with its brand message. Pepsi is worried that a Super Bowl spot might not be consistent with a new social-responsibility message. Instead, the beverage and snack giant might use its air time in next year's broadcast of Super Bowl XLIV, slated to air Feb. 7 from Miami, to promote some of its other brands, like Gatorade and Doritos.
Don't Blame Google Sidewiki if Your Brand Takes Another Hit
Oct 20, 2009
Just when brands thought they might muster a passable social-media "sense and respond" defense against the brutal realities of consumer nastygrams or Google search-result hogging, or just when they figured out a few tricks for managing Wikipedia and all those activists and product recalls that make their way onto your entry, brands must now contend with yet another trust broker that wraps candid conversation around their cherished homefront, whether they like it or not.
CBS Inches Closer to Selling Out Super Bowl XLIV
Oct 8, 2009
CBS is close to selling out approximately 80% of its ad inventory for Super Bowl XLIV, according to a person familiar with the situation, a sign that the sports-advertising marketplace may be recovering more quickly than other TV venues. CBS is still hesitant to force a price point into its discussions but has sought between $2.5 million and $3 million for a 30-second spot in the game, according to this person. As usual, the price hinges on the position of the ad within the telecast as well as whether advertisers want to get more involved with the event by buying up pre-game time or other CBS sports inventory. CBS is expected to broadcast the game from Miami on Feb. 7, 2010.
Teams Tackle Tough Ticket Market
Sep 9, 2009
Kansas City Chiefs fans struggling with ticket payments can finance them on a team-issued credit card. Got a dirty windshield? Buffalo Bills boosters renewing season tickets online enjoy a free car wash. Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions, claims the NFL’s first all-you-can-eat section. Jacksonville Jaguars supporters choose between a dozen ticket packages. The Oakland Raiders even subsidize the train to the game. NFL teams, confronting the worst economy many have ever faced, unveiled a rush of new ticket sales initiatives this offseason that just 12 months ago would have been unthinkable in the country’s most popular sport.
Al Gore Wants to Save Advertising, Too
Jun 4, 2009
According to former Vice President Al Gore, the importance of sustainability doesn't just apply to the environment. It also is key to the future of advertising. "It really comes out of the environment, but in my opinion the key theme of this century really is sustainability," Gore said. "This theme of environmental sustainability has become a part of our culture, it's a part of our discourse, and I'm very optimistic that it will soon be a part of our policy."
CareerBuilder Offers Ad Bounty
May 14, 2009
After dumping one of the country's most successful advertising agencies, CareerBuilder.com has decided to hire an average Joe. The job-posting Web site is starting a contest Wednesday that will ask ordinary consumers to create 25-second commercials for the company. The entries will compete for a chance to run during Super Bowl XLIV on CBS in February, the company says. CareerBuilder, which is owned by Microsoft and media companies including Gannett, McClatchy and Tribune, says it will offer a $100,000 prize to the person who creates the winning spot.
In Only One Year, Hulu Becomes Fourth Largest Video Site in U.S.
Mar 24, 2009
Brains! That must be the secret to Hulu rocketing up to being the fourth largest video site in the U.S. in February, right? That's what Alec Baldwin told us in this creative Super Bowl ad, which may also have had something to do with the video site's healthy traffic bump last month. Of course, it could have been the high-quality content--from Fox and NBC, as well as TV shows and movies from more than 120 sources, from the Food Network to Paramount Pictures.
Are the Super Bowl Brands Still on Twitter?
Mar 19, 2009
Last month, we wondered how long all those Super Bowl ad characters would last on Twitter. The answer was a bit surprising, if only because the personality with the highest potential—the mulleted and inventive PepSuber—was one of the first to drop off.
Who Had the Better Media Strategy? CareerBuilder vs. Monster
Mar 11, 2009
With some 4.4 million people joining the ranks of the unemployed since the recession began in December 2007, job sites have seen a healthy bump in traffic. ComScore's December 2008 website-traffic report revealed "job search" as the fastest-growing content-site category, up 51% from the previous year. The country's two largest job sites, CareerBuilder and Monster, both spent significant media budgets on- and offline, hoping to capture a higher share of this surge in traffic.
Direct From Consumer Marketing
Mar 6, 2009
Drug companies have coined an acronym for the marketing they do that bypasses doctors: DTC. Direct to consumer. Those happy face ads you see in Readers Digest and other magazines, or the erectile dysfunction ads during the Super Bowl. What they are totally unprepared for, and what your organization may be unprepared for is Direct from consumer.
High Life's One-Second Spots Yield 8.6% Sales Boost After Super Bowl
Feb 23, 2009
Miller High Life's one-second Super Bowl ads that weren't created a sales bump that definitely was. Sales of High Life popped 8.6% during the week after the Super Bowl vs. the same period a year earlier, and they were up nearly 5% during the week before the game, according to ACNielsen.
Denny's Super Bowl Ad Value: 'Incredible'
Feb 19, 2009
After its Super Bowl ad promoting a free breakfast created demand on Main Street, Denny's top executive Nelson Marchioli tried Wednesday to serve up interest on Wall Street. The CEO told investors that Denny's has had "a very encouraging lift in guest traffic" since the gimmick, but stopped short of predicting long-term results.
TiVo Tallies Top Ads Post-Super Bowl
Feb 17, 2009
Super Bowl commercials get major viewership. But how do those brands compare at other times of the year? TiVo says one way of analyzing this is determining low "commercial avoidance"--also known as DVR fast-forwarding. When looking at Super Bowl marketers' commercials in non-Super Bowl programming, Coca-Cola had the best ad-viewer results.
Pedigree Super Bowl Spot Finds New Life Online
Feb 17, 2009
One Super Bowl advertiser has found a way to extend the reach of its TV spot to millions more viewers. Pedigree has partnered with DogTime Media to include the ad on the Sparky Media Center, which has already been embedded on over 70 publisher and blog sites with 6 million visitors, said DogTime Media CEO Trevor Wright. Sparky also has been placed on tens of thousands of individual desktops or social media pages, he added.
Why So Few Saw Miller's 1-Second Spots
Feb 9, 2009
Millions of Super Bowl viewers who read about Miller High Life's one-second Super Bowl ads but didn't see them during the game probably assumed they simply missed them because they were grabbing a beer in the bathroom -- or blinking. But the real reason many viewers -- including those in major markets such as Chicago, Los Angeles and New York -- missed the fleeting image of Miller spokesman Windell Middlebrooks quickly shouting "High Life" is because NBC, which aired the game Feb. 1, issued a directive to its owned-and-operated station affiliates not to run the local spots from the value-oriented beer brand.
Pepsi Places Will.i.am Ad in Grammys
Feb 8, 2009
Just a week after raising eyebrows by running Pepsi-themed "Saturday Night Live" skits in commercial breaks on NBC, Pepsi-Cola will once again run an ad tied to a specific TV moment. This time, the beverage giant will zero in on the 51st annual Grammy Awards broadcast, on CBS.
The Difference Between a Show And a Story
Feb 6, 2009
The Super Bowl hype is blissfully long gone, and lazy media outlets can no longer reprint press releases and dissect multi-million dollar wastes of time and money. The lesson of these ads is simple. Putting on a show is expensive, time-consuming and quite fun. And it rarely works.
Nielsen: Bud, GoDaddy Most-Viewed Super Bowl Spots
Feb 6, 2009
The two most-viewed Super Bowl commercials: Bud Light Lime and one from GoDaddy.com, both which ran in the fourth quarter. Super Bowl marketers have been mulling over many metrics in the last several days, but the basic one is viewership. Nielsen Media Research says each of those ads was seen by 103.2 million people, during a period where the game was close and near its end.
YouTube Viewers Crown Doritos Super Bowl Champ
Feb 6, 2009
Last Sunday's Super Bowl might be nearly forgotten, but advertisers are still mulling the effectiveness of their pricey investments. YouTube has weighed in by crowning Doritos as the big winner with the video site's millions of visitors. The Pepsi snack brand had two spots crack the top-five tally in YouTube's Ad Blitz, a special section it created to showcase Super Bowl commercials.
Who Burnished Their Brand With Super Bowl Ads, and Who Didn't
Feb 5, 2009
The Pittsburgh Steelers weren't the only big winners on Super Bowl Sunday. Brands such as Pepsi, Budweiser, Cars.com, General Electric and Bridgestone also pulled off some heroics last weekend, albeit not in the form of a dramatic last-minute, game-winning touchdown drive like the Steelers. Instead the aforementioned marketers earned their victories through 30 and 60-second spots which ran during the game and cost roughly $100,000 a second.
Super Bowl Ads: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly
Feb 5, 2009
Super Bowl commercials cost as much as $3 million this year, but the contest between the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers wasn't an advertising blockbuster. Longtime marketers such as General Motors and FedEx pulled out of the game, and marketers were snapping up discounted airtime right up to kickoff. BusinessWeek's advertising and marketing mavens—Jon Fine, Burt Helm, and David Kiley—settled down with a bucket of wings and a dose of disbelief at some of the branding plays they were forced to witness. Behold their picks and pans of Super Bowl advertising, 2009.
Vizio Sees Value In Promos Post-Super Bowl
Feb 5, 2009
The television commercial on the Super Bowl was only the beginning for Vizio in an effort to increase visibility for its high-definition television brand.
Ad Age Hits Up Denny's for Free Grand Slam
Feb 4, 2009
During the Super Bowl America was offered a free breakfast today at Denny's, and Ad Age decided to take it up on its offer in four different areas of the country.
The Top Five Most 'Emotionally Engaging' Super Bowl Ads
Feb 4, 2009
Media-research firm Innerscope concluded that the most "emotionally engaging" ads -- surprisingly or not -- were those that in one way or another channeled concerns about the economy. That CareerBuilder and Cash4Gold ranked highest in the firm's subconscious scale only speaks to what many already know; people are worried about their finances.
2009 Super Bowl Top 10 Most-Liked, Most-Recalled Spots
Feb 4, 2009
Nielsen IAG ad ratings: consumers like Budweiser's 'Clydesdale Stick' ad best.
Denny's Grand Slam Giveaway a Hit With 2 Million Diners
Feb 4, 2009
Score one for beginner's luck. Denny's first Super Bowl spot, which offered free breakfast to America, seems to have put bums in seats. The restaurant claims it surpassed its estimate that it would serve up to 2 million people during today's eight-hour Grand Slam giveaway. And all for the low price of $5 million.
Christians Bailing on GoDaddy Due to 'Immoral' Advertising
Feb 4, 2009
GoDaddy's famously risque Super Bowl ads always pull lots of eyeballs, but the company's latest spots may have resulted in a little too much attention of the wrong kind.
E-Trade, Kellogg's, Cash4Gold Score Big On Integration
Feb 3, 2009
Just like on the field, Super Bowl XLIII had its winners and losers among brand marketers trying to turn their big game spots into lasting online results. This year, E-Trade, Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, and Cash4Gold.com were all integrated marketing winners, according to new data from IPG's search and social media marketing agency Reprise Media.
Crest Puckers Up for 'Kiss Me in 3-D'
Feb 3, 2009
Following on the heels of 3-D commercials in the Super Bowl, Crest has launched its first foray into the technology with a Web site promoting its teeth-whitening system.
Boobs, Buzz & Buffoons
Feb 3, 2009
I write this as I reel from all of the Monday-morning quarterbacking after yesterday's Super Bowl...only the media coverage isn't focused on the game, but rather on the ads. Nary a hint of reality intrudes on the coverage. It's as if the ads exist in some absolute, ethereal world of creativity, wherein consumption amounts to little more than reactions registered during game breaks. Nevermind that the marketplace is tanking, and even the bestest branded products are rotting on store shelves. NBC still broke records for what it charged for the spots, and lots of reporters and bloggers are talking about them now.
Which Marketers Best Tied Super Bowl Ads to Search?
Feb 3, 2009
Just because you paid NBC up to $3 million for a Super Bowl spot doesn't mean ... well, it might not mean much at all in Google's search results, or even that much in terms of online traffic. For all the offline-online Super Bowl success stories, such as E-Trade's talking baby "outtakes" and Kellogg's online charity initiative, Plant a Seed, there are still plenty of examples of marketers that don't see the need to make online hay out of their $100,000-per-second investment.
Potatoes Win, Cars Lose In Super Bowl Ads
Feb 3, 2009
No matter that Sunday's Super Bowl XLIII turned out to be one of the best ever, in terms of football. Some of the biggest advertisers--including Budweiser and Toyota--looked like also-rans, and consumers seemed underwhelmed by much of the advertising.
Web Helps Keep Bowl Buzz Alive
Feb 2, 2009
In the aftermath of dropping an average of $3 million per 30 seconds, Super Bowl advertisers hope to translate that into online buzz.
3 Reasons Super Bowl Ads Failed, And 3 That Worked
Feb 2, 2009
Most marketing blogs the day after the Super Bowl are sharing the same disappointment at the ads and how universally average they were. Meanwhile, some of the best campaigns of the Super Bowl season were efforts launched online or that had a significant online component, but the fact remains that many Super Bowl ads simply didn't work this year. Here's my list not just of the best and worst ads, but some lessons I think any marketer can learn from why the worst ones failed.
Hulu's Super Bowl Message Delivers Blow To Online Video's Value Proposition
Feb 2, 2009
Despite the mostly weak display of conceptual and copywriting prowess (if you can call it that) that was this year's crop of Super Bowl ads, one ad that stood out in the mind of this creative director as being particularly useless was the Alec Baldwin shill for NBC/FOX's Hulu online video platform. What a lost opportunity.
Super Bowl Ratings: 89.2 Million Tune In
Feb 2, 2009
Super Bowl XLIII, in which the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals, was watched by 89.2 million viewers, compared with 106 million for last year's Super Bowl.
21st Annual Super Bowl Ad Meter results
Feb 2, 2009
How TV's most expensive commercials scored with USA TODAY's Ad Meter focus groups:
Reviews Fly at Twitter Ad Parties
Feb 2, 2009
Consumers, creatives and even advertising characters gathered Sunday night at virtual Super Bowl chat parties set up specifically to discuss the commercials in real time. And while the sheer volume of reactions made it difficult to gauge a consensus opinion, there were some clear winners and losers among the ads -- and a general feeling that the spots, by and large, underwhelmed.
Ed McMahon's Bad Ad Steals the Super Bowl
Feb 2, 2009
Cash4Gold? On the Super Bowl? Really? Things are even worse than we thought. Not because it's pitiful that the down-and-out Ed McMahon and MC Hammer should humiliate themselves before 100 million appalled eyewitnesses. The truly scary thing is that this skeazy exercise from Euro RSCG Edge and Arnold Worldwide will generate, by far, the biggest ROI of the Super Bowl.
Are Pro Sports Too Big to Fail?
Jan 30, 2009
In an economic crisis, the weak die first. So it was no real surprise that the first sports casualties of the current recession came from minor professional leagues: Last month the WNBA shuttered its premier franchise, the Houston Comets, and the Arena Football League, which had been scratching out a living since 1987, canceled its 2009 season. Were these failures part of a normal, recessionary, thinning of the herd? Or were they the early warning signs of a pro-sports bubble that may be about to burst?
Super Bowl XLIII Ads: Teased, Remixed and Too-Hot-for-TV
Jan 30, 2009
The most sacred of American annual rites is upon us: sitting through an over-hyped football game to see cutting-edge TV ads that occasionally rival feature films for production value and creativity. But this year it isn't just about television -- the spotlight's online.
Super Bowl Ad Drive Leads to Brand Sites
Jan 30, 2009
Thirty percent of respondents who plan to watch the game said seeing the telecast's commercials makes them more likely to visit an advertiser's Web site.
It's Not Just DreamWorks' Super Bowl Ad That'll Be 3-D
Jan 30, 2009
If this weekend's Super Bowl is any indication, 3-D is coming back in a big way in 2009, and it's way more than just the red-and-blue glasses of yore.
Super Bowl Sunday's Other Contest: Pizza Delivery
Jan 30, 2009
The Super Bowl isn't just about ads, or even football. It's the day Domino's, Pizza Hut and Papa John's fight for their share of the pie on the biggest pizza-delivery night of the year. Already the competitors are lining up with new products, game-day deals and plays for free publicity; none are actually advertising on the game.
GE to Spends Big Bucks for Smart Grid Ad on Superbowl
Jan 30, 2009
Superbowl ads are a decent way to see trends. During the dot-com bubble, you could see ads for various websites. This year, GE will debut an ad campaign for smart grids. The 30 seconds commercial will feature "a dancing Scarecrow and will discuss a smarter, more efficient, and sustainable electrical energy grid." It's impressive when you think about it: Since when is the electrical grid sexy enough to deserve such an expensive spot?
Upbeat but Sympathetic: A Fine Line for Super Bowl Ads
Jan 30, 2009
For television viewers, the Super Bowl offers an annual midwinter spectacle. On Sunday, in addition to a football game and a halftime show, they can watch Madison Avenue try to walk a tightrope. The advertisers, which are spending up to $3 million for each 30-second commercial during Super Bowl XLIII, have a tricky task before them. They must figure out the right way to speak to consumers worried about the wretched economy while at the same time not ignore the long-standing appeal of Super Bowl Sunday as a night of escapist fare.
Velveeta Gets Ready to Party
Jan 29, 2009
On Sunday, thousands of women across the country are expected to welcome friends to their homes not just to watch the Super Bowl, but to dip into bowls of Velveeta ultimate queso dip. Trying to get more consumers to dip their chips into Velveeta, Kraft turned to House Party Inc., an Irvington, N.Y., marketing firm whose specialty is setting up parties to promote clients' products.
Cheetos' Chester the Cheetah Suits Up for Super Bowl
Jan 29, 2009
Chester the Cheetah is finally getting his big break in the Super Bowl. Frito-Lay, the snack division of PepsiCo, has purchased its first 30-second spot for Cheetos during NBC's telecast of the game, and the brand's animated mascot is the star.
Hyundai To Drive Through Super Bowl
Jan 29, 2009
Hyundai Motor will air five 30-second TV spots during Sunday's broadcast of Super Bowl XLIII on NBC. The ads tout the new Hyundai Genesis Coupe, the company's recently launched Hyundai Assurance program, and the fact that the Genesis sedan was named "2009 North American Car of the Year."
Super Bowl Ads Jump Off The Screen
Jan 28, 2009
To justify the hefty costs, marketers look to make their messages outlast the big game.
Frosted Flakes Super Bowl Ad Promotes Goodwill Program
Jan 28, 2009
With today's heightened scrutiny of marketing sugary kids' food and beverage products, even Tony the Tiger can use all the goodwill he can muster. Kellogg's Frosted Flakes will use a Super Bowl ad to promote a new program in which it will renovate about 50 community playing fields as an extension of its "Earn Your Stripes" kids' program.
Pepsi Tries Super Bowl Spot Selection 2.0
Jan 28, 2009
PepsiCo today announced which ads will be running during the Super Bowl, sort of. The No. 2 cola giant has readied work for Pepsi, Pepsi Max, SoBe Lifewater and G (formerly Gatorade). However, it is hedging its bets as to which creative to run. Instead it is waiting to see which brands are getting the most buzz on the Internet, according to Massimo d’Amore, CEO, PepsiCo Americas Beverages.
Advertisers Change Game Plans for Super Bowl
Jan 28, 2009
Yes, Virginia, and the other 49 states, there is a Super Bowl on Sunday, despite the awful economy. And it appears that NBC will be able to sell all 33 ½ minutes of commercial time at a record price estimated to average $3 million for each 30-second spot. Still, the uncertainties of this challenging year are manifesting themselves in the days before Super Bowl XLIII as advertisers think, rethink — and rethink again — what they intend to do.
The Most Awful Super Bowl Video In History
Jan 28, 2009
It's hard to top Microsoft Songsmith for absolute grating terribleness, but the Southern Food Brokerage definitely holds its own. This retro Super Bowl-themed disaster, based on the Chicago Bears' infamous "Super Bowl Shuffle" from 1985-86, is truly something to behold.
Bridgestone Hits Funny Bone Again In Super Bowl
Jan 27, 2009
Bridgestone America, official tire sponsor of Super Bowl XLIII, will continue the humorous approach to promoting the stopping power of its Bridgestone tires for its Super Bowl ads. The Nashville, Tenn.-based tire company, which advertised during the Super Bowl last year, will run two 30-second TV spots during NBC's broadcast of the game.
Hulu To Shock The World With Super Bowl Ad
Jan 27, 2009
Here's something that just came into my inbox, and presumably the inboxes of the rest of the digital-media press corps: an e-mail from the media team at Hulu, the joint video venture between NBC Universal and News Corp., announcing that the company will be running an ad during Sunday's Super Bowl XLIII. It sounds like Hulu is really hoping to make a splash along the lines of Apple's landmark "1984" ad that aired 25 years ago.
The Top 10 Super Bowl Ads Of All Time
Jan 26, 2009
Nothing makes the economy appear sound like scores of corporations lining up to spend $3 million for a 30-second advertisement that may or may not help their company. Even after a year filled with government bailouts, Bernie Madoff and $4-plus gas, there’s still plenty of money for Super Bowl commercials. But will this year’s advertisements be any good? Too often, today’s Don Drapers fail to look at what has worked in the past.
Yes, the Super Bowl Is Well Worth $3M a Spot
Jan 26, 2009
The Super Bowl presents not just a huge platform with astounding audience numbers where consumers actually lean forward to watch your ad. It also pays surprising ancillary dividends in awareness: reams of press coverage that drive word-of-mouth and stampeding traffic to websites. Most importantly, for the right company, it can establish a relationship with key consumers and sell product.
E*Trade's Baby Brings Friends To Super Bowl
Jan 25, 2009
E*Trade Financial's popular talking baby will not only return to the Super Bowl this year, he's coming back with friends--baby pals as seen in commercial outtakes as well as adult buddies through a new Facebook page and Twitter followers.
Making Every Second, or $100,000, Count
Jan 23, 2009
Marketers that advertise on the Super Bowl are always seeking more bang for their buck. This year, with each 30-second commercial during the game estimated to cost a record $3 million — yes, $100,000 a second — and the recession threatening to dampen viewer enthusiasm, the sponsors are intensifying efforts to amplify the force of what they plan for Super Bowl XLIII.
CareerBuilder Brings 'Tips' to Super Bowl
Jan 23, 2009
CareerBuilder.com will break a 60-second spot during the third quarter of the Super Bowl. Titled "Tips," the ad humorously presents reasons why it might be time to get a new job.
Audi Looks To Score Big With Super Bowl Spot
Jan 21, 2009
While most of its luxury rivals retrench, Audi is looking to grab more market share with a stunt-filled Super Bowl spot.
Bad Times Affect Ad Recall for Bowl Spots
Jan 21, 2009
If U.S consumers have money troubles on their minds, can it detract from their ability to remember what happens in an eye-catching Super Bowl commercial? The answer, apparently, is yes.
Underwriting Your Super Bowl Spot
Jan 19, 2009
The plot has thickened for Super Bowl ads in 2009. The economy is hurting, skepticism of advertising is in no short supply, and the price is $3 million for a 30-second spot. Go for it? Or run for the hills? Super Bowl spots today need to pass two distinct tests -- one measurable and traditional, and the other based on unique dynamics of cross-platform engagement, most notably buzz and conversation.
Super Bowl a Big Bash, But With Ads Toned Down
Jan 19, 2009
NBC said 90% of Super Bowl ads have been sold -- most at an all-time high price of $3 million per 30-second spot -- but some will reflect the tough economic environment.
Clydesdales Dominate A-B Super Bowl Lineup
Jan 16, 2009
Anheuser-Busch may have a new owner, but its iconic Clydesdales loom larger than ever in the brewer's 2009 Super Bowl lineup.
Brands Jostle To Jump On US Inaugural Wagon
Jan 14, 2009
It is meant to be the inauguration of a president, but it is turning into an adman’s dream. When Barack Obama takes the US presidential oath on January 20, he will draw vast audiences normally associated with American football’s biggest event, the Super Bowl. Viewers should prepare for a commercial onslaught.
A Taste for Breakfast and the Super Bowl
Jan 14, 2009
Although the term “grand slam” is associated with baseball rather than football, the restaurant chain that sells the Grand Slam breakfast — Denny’s — is becoming a Super Bowl advertiser for the first time.
Super Bowl Marketers Must Gauge Sensitivity
Jan 7, 2009
At $3 million a shot, it had better work, right? What Super Bowl advertisers get is some 140 million viewers. What else they get depends on how sensitive they are to the economy, and how well they exploit their presence after the game.
FedEx Forgoes Super Bowl for First Time in 12 Years
Dec 22, 2008
FedEx announced today that it will not run a Super Bowl ad for the first time in 12 years. Director of advertising Steve Pacheco posted a statement on the company Web site citing “unprecedented economic waters” as the reason FedEx is opting not to buy a spot.
Where Stunts and Strategy Collide
Dec 17, 2008
Small apparel maker proposes to split 30-second Super Bowl spot 10 ways.
NFL Asks Sports Fans to Vote on Next Super Bowl Ad
Nov 21, 2008
The National Football League will unleash a TV spot this weekend to encourage online voting on its Web site dedicated to the Super Bowl, NFL.com/SuperAd.
