Google Has a Super Bowl Commercial Guaranteed to Make You Cry

On Sunday, February 2nd, I'll be interviewed on a network TV news show about the Super Bowl commercials.

Which Super Bowl spots are the winners? Here are some bullet points to help you wade through all of the Super Bowl-related information.

(Side note: You can see almost all the spots that have been released on the Ad Age website. https://waa.ai/Tof)

A few interesting datapoints:

? According to The Workforce Institute, 17.2 million people are expected to call in sick the day after the Super Bowl.

? Average cost of a :30 spot is $4 million (which does not include production costs, usually around $1 million for a Super Bowl spot).

? Talkwalker, a social data analytics company, has data indicating that the brands getting the most pre-Super Bowl buzz are Olay, Budweiser, Avocados from Mexico, and Hyundai in that order.

The spot guaranteed to make you cry:

? Google has a spot featuring an elderly man using Google’s AI to help him remember his wife who has passed away. I guarantee you can’t watch this spot without shedding a tear. https://waa.ai/Tof

Most innovative approaches:

? P&G is asking people to vote for the final edit of their commercial. You can vote on this website https://www.whenwecometogether.com/ . Very, very interesting.

? Heinz is running a single spot with 4 storylines (each taking 1/4th of the screen). I’m not sure this approach works, but we’ll see

Most memorable spots (that will be discussed around the water cooler on Monday):

? Bud Light Seltzer featuring Post Malon. Funny!

? Doritos featuring Lil Nas X ? Doritos is catching a wave by featuring Lil Nas X

? Amazon featuring Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Ross. Charming spot

? Hyundai “Parking” spot featuring John Krasinski. Very memorable because it’s easy to mimic the Boston accent

Funniest spot:

? Humor is a very subjective thing, but I think the Jason Bateman spot for Hyundai is, hands down, the funniest spot. Agree? Disagree?

Interesting comparison:

? Olay and Microsoft do spots featuring and supporting the empowerment of women. I believe the Microsoft spot is much more effective, but others may feel that Olay is more effective. We’ll know on Monday.

Least memorable spots:

? Squarespace featuring Winona Ryder

? New York Life featuring … the Greek language? Hmmmmm.

Most competitive spot:

? Pepsi’s spot featuring Missy Elliot and H.E.R. taking on Coca-Cola directly.

Trend:

? Three brands (and maybe more) have decided to focus on selling causes rather than directly selling their products.

? The brands are Olay, Weather Tech, and Michelob.

? This is the first time I’ve seen so many brands rally behind social issues. Is it a trend for the future?

About the Author: Jamie Turner is an internationally recognized author, speaker, and CEO who has helped Coca-Cola, Verizon, Holiday Inn, AT&T and others grow their sales and revenues with innovative marketing and growth hacking techniques. He is the co-author of How to Make Money with Social Media; Go Mobile; and Digital Marketing Growth Hacks. He has been profiled in the world’s best-selling marketing textbook and has been written about in the Wall Street Journal, Inc., Forbes, Entrepreneur and Business Insider. Jamie can also be seen regularly on CNN and HLN where he contributes segments on business, leadership, and marketing. Jamie has recently launched a new YouTube series called IN:60 with Jamie Turner. You can read Jamie’s blog by visiting 60SecondMarketer.com and you can find out more about having him speak at your next event by visiting JamieTurner.Live.