Super Bowl XLVII: trends and hits and misses

 

Advertisers and their agencies have spent months and millions to get these ads out and 2013 may have seen a lot trends that will stick with the game for a considerable time. 

 

This year saw the highest adspend in Super Bowl history with 30-second ads worth $4 million, a $500,000 increase from last year. How can advertisers make sure they get bang for their megabucks? 

 

 

The Super Bowl screen is not the only screen the audience will be looking at. And the television is not the only screen Super Bowl fans referred to for updates. Leading up to the game, most advertisers released teasers to the actual Super Bowl commercials online, making social media a part, not just an afterthought, to the whole process. Even days before the actual event, this technique had the whole world talking online, ensuring better product recall.

 

One of the most popular teasers is by Mercedez Benz which featured swimsuit model Kate Upton, washing a car in slow motion. The video, as of this writing, has garnered 6, 572, 780 views since it was released a week before the big game.

 

AdAge explained this trend as: “When an advertiser shells out between $3.5 million and $4.5 million for a Super Bowl ad, using social media to get added exposure isn’t just an afterthought. It helps amortize the cost of the commercial by generating millions of dollars in free publicity.”

 

 

After social media has done its part, another way to capture audiences is through longer, 60-second commercials, giving the viewer a chance to digest the story and fully experience the emotions that come with it. Although this requires advertisers to shed around $7.5 million, most see it as an investment. A study by Kantar Media found that nearly 20 percent of the ads this year stretched 60 seconds or longer, compared with only 10 percent of long ads in 2011. 

 

Last year, one of the most popular ads was Chrysler’s two-minute spot entitled ‘It’s Halftime America’, featuring Clint Eastwood.

 

 

As the New Orleans stadium was plunged into darkness, commentators, the football teams and the audience may have been lost in momentary confusion. But brands took the chance to bring in more noise for the brand, not through the big screen but through Twitter. Bud Light and Speed Stick reportedly went on a heated bid on promoted tweets for the term “power outage” so people who searched for that phrase saw their tweets. 

 

Meanwhile, Oreo tweaked their famous line – “twist, lick, and dunk” – to address the situation, posting, “Power out? No problem. You can still dunk in the dark.” That simple tweet was reportedly retweeted 10,000 times. 

 

 

Other brands who took the advertising game to Twitter include:

 

“We can’t get your #blackout, but we can get your stains out. #SuperBowl #TidePower” – Tide @tide

 

“Lost power during the Big Game…Don’t worry, #GetHappy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H0xPWAtaa8&feature=youtu.be” – Volkswagen USA @VW 

 

The shutdown just went on to show that a shutdown is not a reason for the ads to stop making noise.

 

 

Sex and advertising still proved to be a popular combination. Aside from the Mercedes Benz Kate Upton trailer, no other ad has garnered as much attention as the racy ‘Sexy Meets Smart’ ad for website host GoDaddy. The ad showed Israeli supermodel Bar Rafaeli lock lips with actor Jesse Heiman playing tech geek Walter. 

 

The racy ad, however, is a tame version compared with the original two which made its way to the rejection pile. CBS censors reportedly rejected the first two versions which showed a close-up of the tongue action between the unlikely couple. The final version saw the tongue shot cut out.