We asked a couple of folks at Peter Mayer to talk about the Super Bowl ads—the wins, the losses and this new deal of advertising the advertising. We got a well-researched summary of the goings on from Interactive Media Director Jeremy Braud, and from Executive Creative Director Josh Mayer, we got heartfelt longing for the way things used to be. They were also featured on WDSU last night. Check out both below.
From Jeremy
A 30-second commercial in Super Bowl XVI cost advertisers up to $4 million; this year, marketers created multimedia campaigns aimed at engaging fans and extending the effects of their efforts.
To do this, advertisers built buzz by releasing teasers, or extended versions, of their commercials online before the big show. This year’s most successful teasers were for Volkswagen, Honda and Acura which each generated over 10 million online views. Each leveraged past icons—Star Wars, Ferris Bueller and Jerry Seinfeld—to position their brands. They were rewarded with a massive amount of traditional and social media exposure, successfully building hype for their Super Bowl ads.
Audiences are more engaged with the Super Bowl commercials than ever; IAB estimated that 41% of PC owners would be using their computers during the big game, along with 56% of smartphone owners and 45% of tablet owners. This represents a great opportunity for marketers to engage consumers and leverage brand connections.
Even before the game, Volkswagen encouraged fans to create invites for their own Super Bowl parties and promoted them via rich media ads on YouTube. That ad placement added several hundreds of thousands of dollars to the price tag, but ensured a premium placement when fans went online to view other Super Bowl spots.
Chevy developed the first app tied to a major sporting event. The app created for iPhone and Android customers allowed consumers to compete for one of 20 Chevrolets and 6,000 other prizes. Chevy kept distracted consumers interested in their brand by posing questions related to their ads and products in order for consumers to win the prizes.
But all did not go smoothly for social media from Toyota and Chrysler. Toyota got into trouble early last week for spamming Twitter users who used the #Patriots or #Giants hashtag. Instead of personalizing their messages they sent the same message to all fans, each and every time they used the hashtag. Consumers reacted negatively, leading Toyota to cancel their social campaign.
Chrysler received rave reviews for their Halftime in America spot. They incorporated their video into rich media ads and in premium placements online. Their interactive map was designed to show fans how they were helping keep America, and Chrysler, on track. Millions of social media connections were made, but the NFL had YouTube remove the video for copyright infringement. Hours later it was back online, but not before sapping the campaign’s momentum.
To measure the social buzz around Super Bowl campaigns, Peter Mayer utilizes Sysomos; we can track the volume of social chatter, sentiment related to ads and trending data. This year’s most positive mentions went to Doritos and Bud Light spots, which used animals and babies to sell their products. Go Daddy and Lexus received the worst reviews from fans for their lackluster offerings.
This year’s Super Bowl didn’t produce many standout commercials, but the industry is breaking new ground with its use of interactive and social media. While results and case studies pour in from this year’s campaign, we can rest assured that these brands are already planning on outdoing themselves next year with better creative and more interactive offerings. We will continue to monitor their results and report back on the findings.
And from Josh
I don’t like it. Not one bit. All this pre-release, pre-hype, watch-it-before-the-game scheming. Oh, I understand it from everyone’s point of view. There’s a lot of money at stake, and if you can garner more eyeballs before the Super Bowl, then what could be wrong with that? A lot.
Call me a purist or a scrooge or a naysayer, but what I like about Super Bowl commercials is that they have to fight it out during the Super Bowl. It’s a win-or-go-home game, just like the actual Super Bowl. And to win, to become talked about the next day, week and year, these ads have to be special. They have to stop you from going to pee, delay your trip to the fridge. They need to make you want to “shhh” the room; they should be so surprising and startling that you want to clap. Or laugh. Or say, “Aww.” Or be so outstanding in the allotted commercial break that they actually could be considered better than the game itself.
But now all of these old rules have been made moot by the preview party. The YouTube early release. The best of Super Bowl Commercials Show. I say “Hooey.”
Again, for the agencies and advertisers, and maybe even the public, the new way has its advantages. We get to see it more, more, more! More for the consumer, more for the agencies and more for the clients who are footing the bill.
But have we done the typical American thing? Have we taken something that was good—maybe even great—and made it worse by trying to make it better? Have we taken the great once-a-year moment and overdone it?
Hey, I love my birthday, but it only comes once a year, so maybe I’ll just have a pre-birthday a week before and then I get a weeklong birthday culminating on my actual birthday! And then for the week that follows, I’ll celebrate “The Best of Josh’s Birthday, 2012!” Makes no sense, right?
So thanks, America. Thanks to us, the agencies, the clients and, of course, the media, for taking the great ritual and spectacle of the Super Bowl commercial and ruining it, like Die Hard 4.
Nonetheless, here are my top five and bottom five spots that I actually saw and experienced during the Super Bowl:
Top 5:
Audi – “So Long, Vampires”
Fiat – “Sexy Italian”
Kia – “Mr. Sandman”
Sketchers – “Mr. Quigley”
Cars.com – “Confident you”
Bottom 5:
Bud Light – “Platinum”
Lexus – “Box”
Go Daddy – “Body Art”
Honda – “Ferris Bueller”
Doritos – “Stretch Baby”