As a marketer, I firmly believe that there are only a handful of companies that should make the investment to advertise during the big game. The ultimate goal of any advertising is to sell a product, but not every company succeeds. Here is my take on the companies that got it right and the brands that should have saved their pennies.
THE GOOD
- Hats off to Radio Shack for reigniting the small ray of hope they had as a relevant business and poking fun at their stagnancy. The “80’s are calling” theme made me laugh, shake my head in agreement and maybe… just maybe… want to check out what their refreshed stores have to offer.
Budweiser’s “Puppy Love” Super Bowl spot was a social media favorite.
- Axe Body Spray was provocative, memorable and gave viewers the warm fuzzy with their “Make Love, Not War” campaign. Originally created in affiliation with Peace One Day, a nonprofit organization dedicated to upholding an annual day of international cease-fire, it was a nice change of pace from the macho, sex-filled ads we normally see from them.
- H&M had hearts fluttering all over the U.S. with their ad for David Beckham’s new underwear line. Needless to say, I’m still smiling after seeing his cute and half naked bum running across my T.V screen and my husband will be getting some new underwear… STAT!
- As always, Budweiser had us shedding a tear with their “Puppy Love” spot. I’m not sure how many people will leap off their couches wanting to buy beer because of a cute puppy, but the ad got a ton a buzz before and during the game, which is every advertising exec’s dream.
THE BAD
If you’re paying $4 million dollars for a 30 second TV spot, you better bring your “A” game! Unfortunately, several brands seemed to squander their investment.
- Pizza Hut’s “Go for Greatness” campaign fell flat and struggled to stand out from the crowd despite their use of a baby waterskiing and a grandma jamming on the drums.
- Ditto for the Chevy Silverado ad with a bull being carried to a harem of girl cows by his cowboy owner via a shiny new truck.
- In the category of straight-up-weird, Audi took the cake with their “Doberhuahua campaign. It may have gotten my attention, but the scary looking hybrid dog that wreaks havoc on everyone it sees, had zero to do with selling a German car and freaked me out more than anything.
THE LOCALS
I hate to say it, but I was honestly unimpressed by both Phoenix-based companies that ran spots this year.
- Fulton Homes was lackluster, as best, with their 30 second spot spelling out the name of the company. Had I not been paying close attention, I probably would have missed it all together. The home builder missed the mark on resonating with their target market and did very little to build a buzz around the brand… before, during and after the game.
- Go Daddy broke from tradition with two different ad campaigns… neither of which was incredibly provocative or sexy. The body builder ad was a home run when it came to relevant messaging, tag line and branding. However, their ad with the woman quitting her job on live T.V. was pretty boring and lacked any staying power.
Go Daddy broke with tradition with scant use of a scantily clad Danica Patrick.