Tag: Super Bowl

Disappointed with early release of Super Bowl ads

Posted on by Taylor Kennedy

super-bowl-50-logoEven if you didn’t grow up a sports fan, you still watched the Super Bowl for its advertisements and maybe even the halftime show. You knew that the ads you saw were being released for the very first time. It’s also one of the only sporting events in which people don’t leave the room during commercials (unless they need to refill) because they are what many people look forward to seeing.

This year–like the past several years–that feeling of being surprised has disappeared. I guess it was only a matter of time, as companies have released their ads weeks prior to the game, with the hopes of increasing exposure.

As I think about it, it is a smart move for companies. Since companies are spending an average of $4.8 million plus production costs for a 30-second commercial, it makes sense the organization would want to extend the buzz to make the investment worthwhile. It could make a one-day campaign turn into a 10-day campaign. Also, releasing early gives the company a chance to break through some of the clutter.

It will be interesting to see how pre-releasing these ads will affect viewership numbers during the game on Sunday.

Super Bowl ads 2015: staff opinions

Posted on by Brian Lee

BRIAN:
Instead of picking a favorite, I want to talk about how many sets of commercials used the same elements. For example:

  • Both Toyota and Microsoft followed the life of someone with prosthetic legs.
  • Both Carnival and Toyota used a recording of a famous speech to overlay over b-roll.
  • Both Sprint and Discover featured a screaming goat.

To me, it just goes to show that you have to work really hard to stand out from the crowd. You may think you have a unique idea, or you may think you’re the only one taking advantage of something trendy, but in all likelihood, someone else is doing the same thing.

TAYLOR:
In between being a disgruntled Colts fan (#DeflateGate) and planning a wedding, I managed to watch a bit of the Super Bowl. The ad that stood out to me most was McDonald’s “Pay With Lovin’.” Earlier in the week, the company teased it was going to announce a new form of payment which, we now know, includes hugs, selfies and high-fives. I think McDonald’s did a great job of incorporating its longtime slogan of “I’m Lovin’ It” to something time-related with Valentine’s Day. Also, who doesn’t like free hamburgers!

GABRIELLE:
One of the only Super Bowl ads that really stuck out to me this year was Dove Men’s Care. The majority of Dove advertisements I’ve seen in the past are typically marketed toward women through images of natural beauty and empowerment. This time I thought it was great they focused on men. I really liked how they framed the “Real Strength” of men through the videos of fathers caring for their children. They did a great job of evoking emotions and challenging gender stereotypes.

Twitter marketing during TV events

Posted on by Brian Lee

I feel bad for the people who have to manage the Twitter accounts of major brands during live events like the Super Bowl and the Oscars because it can’t be easy to stay on your toes for 3+ hours.

For example, you never know about the spontaneous things that happen, such as the safety during the first quarter of the Super Bowl or Ellen ordering pizza during the Oscars.

Here are my recommendations for tweeting during TV events:

  • Prepare tweets for every scenario. For example, “tweet XYZ if team 1 leads at halftime,” or “tweet XYZ if movie 3 wins best picture.”
  • Monitor trending tweets, hashtags and Twitter accounts relevant to the event (e.g. actors during the Oscars).
  • Like in crisis communications, create a list of everything else that could happen, from loss of power (2013 Super Bowl) to wardrobe malfunctions to flubbed lines to inadvertent product mentions, and then prepare tweets for them.
  • Have a small team accessible (e.g. same room, conference call, Skype, etc.) that can make quick decisions on what to tweet for everything else that happens.

Now here’s a list of some of the good and bad tweets during these recent TV events:

  • I wasn’t impressed with JCPenney’s tweeting with mittens stunt, in which the company purposely put out tweets with typos before revealing that it had been wearing mittens while typing. Sure it got people talking about the brand, but I’m anxious to see Q1 results if sales of mittens actually increased, because that’s the true measurement.
  • On a related note, congrats to Kia, Snickers and Doritos for tweeting back at JCPenney on the fly (e.g. Kia’s “Hey @jcpenney need a designated driver?”).
  • Ready for a shameless tweet? Try Papa John’s “Frozen wins, only at the movies. Our fresh, NEVER Frozen hand-tossed original crust pizza wins every time. #betteringredients.” I mean, really?
  • I liked Pizza Hut’s “Did someone say pizza? We got you” in response to Ellen wanting a pizza delivered.

Here’s my favorite tweet, although it did occur two days after the Oscars. This comes from @TheSimpsons, who wrote “.@TheEllenShow Oscar® Selfie: A wider view. #thesimpsons”