Some people say that advertising is making you long for something you’ve never heard of before. And if you watched the Super Bowl, they may be right.
Most of the commercials Sunday were attention getting and memorable, which are two of the most important criteria in a good ad. Yet sometimes what we think is a good commercial may not be that effective. And effective ads are the ones that sell.
To be effective, a commercial needs to leave the viewer with a clear, and positive, association with what’s being promoted. After all, the advertiser is selling something, or at the very least, trying to make you feel good about it.
So here is an overview of the Super Bowl commercials, not based on cleverness, or humor, or pets (there were a bunch of dogs, cats, chimps), or cars (a ton, I lost count) or sexual innuendo (a bunch of that too, and I’m sorry but I’m sick of the GoDaddy.com crap) but based on how well the product was positively associated with the message.
The most effective:
1) The most effective ad was the Chevy Camaro spot where the graduate thinks his gift is the yellow Camaro parked in front of the house. The car is in the commercial the whole time, and you almost can’t take your eyes off it as the spot hysterically unfolds. The perfect blend of entertainment and product ID.
2) The dramatic Clint Eastwood “Halftime in America” 2 minute spot was a close second in terms of effectiveness. A compelling commercial with a wonderful message and a great association for Chrysler.
3) The Doritos spot where the dog bribes the guy with Doritos to keep quiet about him burying a feline is hysterical and has great brand association. It might have been number one but the concept is a little creepy to me.
4) The Volkswagen spot with the fat dog getting in shape to chase the beetle is lot of fun, very memorable and has great product ID.
5) The Dannon commercial where John Stamos gets head-butted – which is a terrific concept in and of itself – has good product recognition, since the whole spot is about yogurt, and is worth a chuckle.
6) I know people think the eTrade toddlers might be a tired concept, but this one is really funny. And it has the best line of the night. Our star baby asks another who’s inside the nursery what he’s doing in there, and Bobby replies “I’m speed dating!”
The least effective:
1) The boy in the pool who had to pee. This was a funny technique and I watched all the way through wondering whether he was going to make it or not. And while I laughed, I’ll bet no one will remember it was selling TaxAct.com. Or worse, according to Advertising Age: “Before this spot, what did you think of when hearing the name TaxACT? (Answer: Nothing.) Now what do you think of? Pool urination! Brilliant!”
2) Acura NSX. Jerry Seinfeld is old. At least he’s still funny. While it was cool seeing the Soup Nazi (and not seeing Jay Leno), how many of you remember what the spot was selling? And if you do remember it was the Acura NSX, there can’t be more than 200 people in the world who actually can afford one. So this, while entertaining, wasn’t very effective.
3) More Career Builder monkeys. A really tired concept. Chimps were funny once, but it’s time to stop exploiting them. And the one human in the spot still doesn’t have a job. Dumb.
4) And I’m sorry, but why a polar bear would want to drink an ice-cold Coke is beyond me. Nothing thirst-quenching here. Time to retire the polar bears.
5) The Cars.com spot where the guy’s conscience is coming out of his neck is weird and creepy. Worse, I don’t know what to do about it.
6) The Audi vampire spot is indeed memorable, and sure does demonstrate the car’s unique headlights. But blood as a snack? Gross.
7) And tell me why the NFL’s commercial (which strangely promotes helmet safety) ends with the Bears scoring a touchdown? There should be a little reality in these spots, shouldn’t there?
In general, some of the commercials were clever. Some were down right offensive. But in all, in terms of what we’ve come to expect at the Super Bowl, it was a motely crue. Especially when you consider it cost an average of $3.5 million per spot.
Advertising Age Media Works link has all the commercials here in case you didn’t see them. Ah, and now football’s over until August. Go Brewers!
