More than 111 million people watched Super Bowl LI on Feb. 5, which means that a select few brands got their message out to an overabundance of impressionable would-be consumers. These commercials often range from wacky to political, even creating moments that can be heart-wrenching and uplifting within 30 or 60 seconds. And every year, these ads get analyzed, ranked and scrutinized, giving brands a master class on what it means to put together a great ad campaign.
The RTP team discusses which Super Bowl advertisements they thought were the most effective, which ones didn’t work and how retail brands can learn from these examples.
Debbie Hauss, Editor-in-Chief: First, the game was great, the halftime show was great, and you can’t miss the ads — so I had little or no time to watch the Puppy Bowl this year, unfortunately. I was surprised by a few ad facts this year: 1. The majority of the ads were for car companies, although they’ve apparently been the largest Super Bowl advertising segment since 2010 — it just seemed more noticeable to me this year for some reason.; and 2. Tiffany purchased Super Bowl ad space. Then — Lady Gaga promoting Tiffany? That seemed a bit out of the blue box…maybe for the company also, since the CEO stepped down just a few hours before the ad aired. Otherwise, on a ridiculous level I thought the GoDaddy Internet commercial was fun; and on a political level I appreciated the effort by Uber.
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Adam Blair, Executive Editor: As is often the case with Super Bowl commercials, what doesn’t make the broadcast may be more interesting than what does. There’s GNC’s commercial, rejected by the NFL after the struggling retailer had already paid millions to create it. (Some of GNC’s products contain substances banned by the league.) GNC is now considering suing Fox for lost potential sales. Then there’s 84 Lumber’s full commercial — more like a short subject at nearly six minutes long — showing the heart-rending journey of a Mexican immigrant and her daughter. They make the perilous journey to the U.S. border but are confronted by: THE WALL. Then (spoiler alert) it turns out there’s a big open door in the wall. Not only is the connection to 84 Lumber tenuous to non-existent, but the story line represents an emotionally manipulative fantasy. Contrast that with Budweiser’s “immigrant” commercial, also showing a tough 19th-century journey by German immigrant Adolphus Busch. I guess immigration is OK — as long as it happened a long time ago.
Alicia Esposito, Content Strategist: The Super Bowl usually comes with a mixed bag of commercials. Some are extremely serious, while others are thought-provoking and touching, and of course, you have to love a good so-stupid-it’s-funny ad. So I thought it would be appropriate if I shared my favorites on both sides of the spectrum: serious and funny. I have to commend Audi for its ad spot, which really zeroed in on issues surrounding gender equality. While Dove and other feminine care brands have done this successfully in the past, Audi did it by taking the perspective of a dad, who is watching his daughter in a boxcar race. It’s emotional and it really allows you to connect with the “main character” on a personal level. For funny ads, I have to give props to beverage brand bai for featuring Christopher Walken and Justin Timberlake. There’s nothing better than having the legendary Walken speaking the lyrics to *NSync. His chemistry with Timberlake is electric and they both have such great comedic timing. I’ve tried bai and am not a huge fan but, I have to say, after watching the commercial I’m tempted to give their stuff another shot.
David DeZuzio, Managing Editor: The Super Bowl is a day to take your mind off of everything else and enjoy a bunch of dudes throwing a ball and hitting each other. It requires no thought and rewards everyone with either a great game or, at the very least, a fantastic day for snacks. But almost bigger than the game (not necessarily this year) are the commercials. I’m going to keep it light, so let’s start off with Bud Light’s resurrection of Spuds MacKenzie. Sure, it might have been a little creepy to suggest that a dead dog would want a brew but hey, roping in a “classic” character like Spuds might spark some old feelings of brand loyalty for some. Next up, Kia paid tribute to the fact that whatever a customer commits to (in this case, being an eco-warrior, played brilliantly by the always-funny Melissa McCarthy) it has a product that will make their lives even easier, which is always a good message to send. Ford sent a similar message with its Go Further spot with plenty of people (and a cat) stuck in sticky situations. No one likes being stuck and Ford will make things easier. Perfect. And for the fun of it all, who doesn’t love a good brainwashing from Jon Lovitz? Avocados, anyone?
Glenn Taylor, Senior Editor: When it comes to creating ads, I always admire companies that aim to break through in a big way to gain noticeability. Take the beverage company bai, for example, which let Christopher Walken do what he does best — use his speech cadence to make anything hilarious. I’ve seen bai drinks in food stores in the past, but have never given them the time of day. Now, I will definitely notice the brand more often during any grocery trips. Adding Justin Timberlake only puts the ad over the top and shows that the brand was willing to do everything it can to put itself further on the map. On the other hand, from a marketing standpoint, the 84 Lumber commercial was simply too long for what it was trying to accomplish. Despite the eyeballs on the ad, the company is essentially giving its viewers a homework assignment in expecting them to go back to the site to watch five more minutes. In a time where every promotion needs to have instant impact on a consumer, brands can’t hope consumers are going to take the next step on their own to decide if they want to hear their message.
Klaudia Tirico, Features Editor: I have to say that I wasn’t really impressed with any of the Super Bowl commercials this year. There is usually at least one that has me in tears, so I was disappointed that none of them really pulled at my heart strings. Lucky for me, the Stranger Things Season 2 teaser trailer and Lady Gaga’s halftime show performance made up for the lack exciting ads. With that said, my colleagues all presented some good examples. The bai commercial did a great job at attracting Millennials with N*Sync’s “Bye, Bye, Bye” song and a cameo from Justin Timberlake. TurboTax also stood out because it was just so creepy. But, hey, creepy could be memorable. My advice for brands looking to shell out big bucks for a Super Bowl commercial next year would be: More puppies please!
