Month: February 2024

I’ve been an Ad man for 40 years and that long tenure has given me some unique insights I’m happy to share. Here’s a key point – beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If you loved the spot, it’s a good spot. If almost everyone loved the spot, it’s a great spot. As an Ad guy, however, I look for the ideas behind the drama/humor and judge them accordingly. There was the usual noise and gratuitous use of celebrity, but also some great ideas:

Pluto’s “Couch Potato” ad

The “couch potato” ad was based on a simple idea that resonated with everyone in the audience. Original, funny, visually interesting and not-too fast moving that it blended into all the other Super Bowl noise. Their message is that the product is so good that you’ll turn into a couch potato. It works because it’s a simple brand-related benefit that is easily understood.

Lay’s “Groundhog Day” 15-second Spot Series

Airng on ABC, this is an example of a spot concept with little production value but a big idea, this was a great use of the media buy (:15’s), and the built-in repetition of a series that has a similar script arch is arresting. This technique plays to the audience’s inherent short attention span but rewards their intelligence with dry humor and delivers a simple but central message – there’s a ton of Lay’s chip flavors.

Oreo’s Twist Spot

Another example of a great marketing idea is to feature Oreo twisting as a tiebreaker/decision-maker. A series of celebrities ostensibly make what, in retrospect, look like big-time but no-brainer decisions with the aid of an Oreo cookie. This is a good use of celebrity, and if they play this idea out, it could become a culturally iconic lifestyle moment where people think of gnawing on Oreos while pondering big decisions. I’d run with this one for a while if I were running marketing there.

And then there was some spots with big productions and soft scripts with no punch:

Google Co-Pilot Ad – AI Technology

A series of well-shot scenes featuring pensive-looking people expressing negative thoughts and tiny font on screen. The point is that these folks will change the world because Google Co-Pilot has empowered them. This spot must be watched two to three times to make its point, making it a bad investment for Microsoft.

Squarespace Saucers Ad – Shot by Martin Scorsese

Beautifully shot and edited, this is a huge-budget spot that is really a film short. But the point was…. Oh yeah, everybody is looking at their screens and not noticing the invasion of aliens. You must really think about this one for it to make sense and be relevant to the advertiser. As a result, my opinion is that this is not a great Super Bowl ad, and Martin should stick to those awesome long-form movies!

Notable effort:

After stepping in some major doo-doo since the last Super Bowl, the once-proud Anheuser Busch Co. spent heavily and returned to their legendary playbook: Clydesdales, puppies and frat-boy humor.

Budweiser Beer Delivery Ad:

The Clydesdales deliver the Budweiser on a day when it’s snowing too hard for the trucks to run. An adorable Labrador somehow shows them the way… Not that these spots were ever plausible, but it might have played better during a winter when it actually snowed! That said, people always love this formula.

Bud Light Genie Ad:

It’s notable that Bud Light returned to the big game with a spot that featured Post Malone and that played well with an audience that actually enjoys frat-boy humor.

Every February, more than 100 million of us gather before our large screens to watch the Super Bowl. 

Most of us don’t care about the outcome because our teams didn’t make it. We enjoy the best that the advertising and marketing industry has to offer and witness the best-funded marketing campaigns of our time produced by colossal advertising agencies. 

Many of these Super Bowl commercials and the supporting promotional concepts are brilliant. Marketers in the audience wish they could have a campaign on that level for their brand. 

Guess what? You can. 

What makes these ads magical is complex but well within reach: Advertising creativity. Integrated marketing communications. Social media campaigns. 

By being resourceful, you can follow the principles below without breaking the bank. Everything discussed here can be executed tastefully on a reasonable budget and at a local level. It does take some talent to create something special, but this doesn’t have to run in the millions. 

Here’s what you’ll need to focus on: 

1. Be  brand  relevant: Develop a core campaign idea relevant to your brand’s distinct identity. Tie into a benefit you offer the consumer (not a product attribute).
2. Entertainment value: You need to keep the viewer’s attention. It must be interesting and fresh. A retread of an old idea and overselling will not do.
3. Simplicity: Keep the idea very simple. Spots are only 30 seconds long. Try to get one idea and one image to stick in the consumer’s mind.
4. Genuine appeal: If you know your audience, you know their hot buttons and desires. Find a way to reach a level of appeal on an emotional and value-based level. They’ll love it, and they won’t even know why.
5. Create a disruption: Things that are out of the ordinary and unusual attract attention. Do something curious and leave the audience wanting more.
6. Share more online: Drive traffic to your website. Have more brand story content and something of value, such as a promotional offer to create conversion, available on your website.
7. Get people involved: Make it something people want to copy or participate in. Use social media to invite them to share comments. Give them an opportunity to submit photos that you can share across social media channels.
8. Leverage your small buy with PR: Creative advertising concepts that are truly unique, fun, curious and involve consumers can be worthy of traditional media coverage.
9. Create a scene: A public display or event in the real world and a well-timed press release will often produce media coverage and social media engagement. Extend your concept to retail merchandising and event marketing.
10. Do some good: Tie to cause-related marketing that people believe in. Find an organization with core values and benefits that parallel your brand’s. Give consumers a warm feeling and a reason to prefer you.
11. Remember your keywords: Do everything you can to drive your site’s SEO (search engine optimization). Develop a keyword strategy of phrases and words that tie to commonly searched terms. Tag and code all content appropriately.
12. Production value: Camera angles, musical scores, talent, wardrobe, graphic design and the set are all important. It sounds expensive, but you don’t need to go to Hollywood or Madison Avenue to find talented people who will give your work a proprietary look and contemporary finish.
13. Save the date! When you create all this consumer engagement, be sure you’re driving consumers to register whenever possible. Utilize digital retargeting to continue to cultivate those who have visited your website.

Unfortunately, following these 13 steps to brilliant work may not be as easy as reading this piece, but you can certainly get there with the help of talented and enlightened partners who are available to you. If your mind is open to working on this level, there is a creative advertising agency that will work with you within your budget.

As you can see, there is far more involved than a simple media buy and digital video production. Tremendous value is found in executing across multiple marketing platforms. Be certain the agency you choose has the integrated messaging capabilities and the strategic chops to design a Super Bowl-worthy campaign. Even if you don’t have the $7 million for a 30-second spot in the big game, your brand deserves the best.