2023 Brand Bowl Round Up

It’s the Monday after the biggest night on TV and that means it’s time for another Brand Bowl round up.

While I wasn’t particularly enthused for this year’s game matchup (or the NFL’s inconsistent officiating…), my 13-year background as a brand marketing strategist always leaves me excited for the $7 million, 30-second commercials and the musician in me appreciates the halftime show!

The 57th installment of this big night (mostly) didn’t disappoint (though there were some BIG misses…). And there was one CLEAR winner of the night…. we’ll get to that in a bit.

I’ve gathered my thoughts on the evening’s biggest winners and losers from the only perspective that matters — the audience’s point of view.

Here’s my round up of the 2023 Super Bowl ads spots:

WINNERS

1. Temu - the shopping app…you know, the one that made everyone stop and scramble for the remote? This one was brilliant, attention-grabbing and perfectly timed. I’ve been thinking about this spot for nearly 24 hours…. and I bet you have too…
2. PopCorners – Breaking Good: Nostalgia wins and this commercial with dynamic meth-making duo Walt and Jesse from Breaking Bad was equal parts entertaining with a clear connection to the brand showing the chips front and center. For fans, this was a big win.
3. CrowdStrike – Troy: this spot took a story we all know and connected it to the brand’s value proposition, giving the audience a clear idea of what the brand offering is all about. Educational and entertaining for the audience.
4. Downy - Call Me Downy McBride: who doesn’t love a good pun? This one is great for the audience too because fans love Danny and will easily remember “Downy” meaning it’s great for brand recognition.
5. DraftKings – Kevin’s Bet: this spot picked up on the ongoing spokesperson relationship with Kevin Hart fans know and love…and brought in some star studded friends like Ludacris, The Undertaker, Tony Hawk in a clever Austin Power’s style pass-approach. Attention-getting with a clear action for the audience to take in-game.
6. Dunkin’ Dash - Drive-Thru by Ben Affleck: This spot had me laughing. Anyone who’s got a little pulse on celebrity news, knows the infamous Affleck photo with the Dunkin’ Donuts cup. The brand embraced that this year to bring together Ben & Jen for a fun little spot.
7. NFL - Run With It: This ad was equal parts inspiring and captivating. Plus, it served as a true celebration of women in the NFL, which felt uplifting overall.
8. Planters - Made to Be Roasted: This ad was a nod to the roasts of yesteryear…and it had a clever nod to last year’s ad saga for Mr. Peanut…good storytelling, good fun; all-in-all a good spot.
9. WeatherTech – We All Win: The brand mission and vision for this advertisement was very clear with a made in America message that is clear to the audience.

LOSERS

1. T-Mobile New Year, New Neighbor… And all T-Mobile spots: As I tweeted last night these spots were worse than T-Mobile’s cell service is. Disconnected concept, confusing and not amusing for the audience.
2. Amazon - Saving Sawyer: The dog lover in me wanted to love this one but the end really ruined it for me with the message. While the audience may be able to relate to the challenges of returning to workplace with a pup at home, it seemed to jump around and give a confusing message at the end that won’t be as relatable. Swing and a miss.
3. DoorDash – We Get Groceries: For some reason I continue to struggle to connect with DoorDash ads. While this one communicated the service offering clearly to the audience, but the approach didn’t keep audience attention long enough to make it stick.
4. Doritos - Try Another Angle: So many triangles, not enough time. While celebrities often get buzz, I didn’t see any fans talking about this ad online during or after the game.
5. Fan Duel - Kick of Destiny: This one sure got fans talking on Twitter, but I”m still confused if Gronk make it or not…. what about you?
6. Squarespace - The Singularity: This commerical totally missed the mark for me. High production feel and “Hollywood” style doesn’t seem to align for Squarespace’s target customer. Feels like they missed the mark on this one…
7. And everything else…

Often, advertisements try to achieve a reaction with star-studded cameos; over-the-top humor or even outlandish stunts. Overall I found most of the ads this year fell flat…. On TV’s biggest night — a night with so much noise — brands need to be memorable and clear. The general sentiment seemed that most people were unimpressed.

Though some brands made the most of their $7 million dollar investment this Super night by using some mix of the magic formula to connect with their audience, my opinion is that most of this year’s brands fumbled that opportunity.

THE ULTIMATE WINNER

The one brand that is the clear winner of the night? Rihanna’s billion-dollar Fenty Beauty, thanks to that subtle, yet clear product placement during the halftime show. When during the performance, the 34-year old mom-to-be touched-up her makeup on stage. This seemed effortless to the viewers at home - perhaps it even looked and felt unscripted. Yet it was intentional product placement. It’s brilliant and it is paying off….because it didn’t feel like a hard sell to the audience. It created a moment of mystery and intrigue…and left the audience wondering more. This isn’t just my opinion, the data shows this, too….

In less than 12 hours following her halftime performance, searches for Fenty Beauty soared 833% with over $5.6 million in media impact value in that same time period. Rihanna didn’t leverage star-studded celebrity cameos or humor to drive this brand visibility... Instead she was subtle, adding in a mid-performance makeup touch up. And it’s likely to get her millions.

So while I enjoyed commercials from Dunkin’ Donuts, Planters and even that clever spot from Temu…. Rihanna and her brand Fenty Beauty is the real winner of the night…and the brand that will win the most of anyone on the field in Glendale for Super Bowl 56.

Note: a version of this article also appeared on StephanieRiel.com

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