Super Bowl: The Ad Fest

First things first, Happy Valentine's Day, folks!?

Disclaimer: I am not into sports. But I like ads.?

And, Super Bowl is all about high stake ads that can make or break a brand.?

So here I am, telling you all about Super Bowl marketing - The biggest advertising event of the year! A fest for the marketers and the football fans, of course!

Super Bowl LVII - Chiefs Vs Eagles?

Super Bowl 57 was packed with storylines as the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles played at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

The game and the two weeks of hype, parties and other events leading up to it have turned the Super Bowl into a spectacle. It ranks up there with the Olympics or World Cup, a royal wedding or papal celebration, and the Oscars or Grammys.

Ads of Super Bowl

Jumping straight into the marketing aspect of it, let’s see how the brands leverage this event.

The Super Bowl is widely considered the mecca of marketing, attracting the attention of millions of people all over the world.?

“The relationship between Super Bowl and advertising is symbiotic, with the event providing a platform for companies to reach a large audience, and the ads providing an entertaining and memorable aspect of the Super Bowl experience for viewers.”

Although the advertising industry is cautious about the economy, the demand for Super Bowl commercial slots did not at all slow down.

The Super Ads of Super Bowl (And the agencies)

Squarespace

The Squarespace ad titled "The Singularity" with actor Adam Driver gave us the Matrix experience of 2001 Space Odyssey and Multiplicity all over again. Driver goes metaphysical with his mind blown at the possibility of "A website making websites."

The campaign, developed by Squarespace’s in-house creative team, is meant to commemorate 20 years since its inception.

PepsiCo

In the brand’s ’Great Acting or Great Taste’ campaign, the comedic icons tell viewers how delicious Pepsi Zero Sugar is, until they state the obvious that they are both actors. They cycle through some familiar acting techniques to demonstrate that their on-camera emotions are not in fact real, and instead encourage viewers to try the brand’s sugar-free cola for themselves.

The ads come from VaynerMedia and Caviar production.

General Motors

A humorous 60-second commercial for General Motors with a lot of Netflix allusions had Will Ferrell as the lead. The comedian waxed lyrical about the automaker's association with the streaming giant Netflix, stating how GM will include more electric vehicles in programmes and movies.

Ferrell appeared in parodies of The Walking Dead, Stranger Things, Bridgerton, and The Squid Games, among many other references.

Netflix and General Motors teamed up on a 60-second ad, campaign fronted by actor Will Ferrell.

Google Pixel 7

The Google Pixel 7 demonstrated the phone's ability to improve photos after they have been taken by removing distracting items and sharpening the image. Rucker said that the reason the advertisement received a high rating was because it showed what the technology is capable of for consumers.

Developed and created by the tech giant’s in-house creative teams, the commercial will air during the game’s second quarter.

UberEats

Super Bowl ads went high on nostalgia with this one. In quest of the ideal jingle, the UberEats advertisement enlisted well-known performers from the 1990s and 2000s such Kelis, Montell Jordan, Donna Lewis, Diddy, Ylvis, and Haddaway. It's funny and sentimental in equal measure!

The creative, developed in partnership with creative agency Special US, will air nationally during the second quarter of the game.

Miller Lite, Coors Light & Blue Moon Big Game Commercial

For their Super Bowl ad in 2023, Molson Coors made a different decision. Molson Coors has been hyping The High Stakes Beer Ad as a competition between Coors Light and Miller Lite for weeks, asking fans to choose which brand they think would appear in the enigmatically titled commercial.

A showdown between “Great Taste” and “Mountain Cold Refreshment” ended with a surprise twist during the Super Bowl, with Blue Moon prevailing in Molson Coors’ highly anticipated “High Stakes Beer Ad.”

Pringles

The Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter appears in the commercial as one of numerous individuals whose hand is trapped within a Pringles can. Aside from Trainer, three other people—a surgeon, a judge, and a bowler—live their lives with Pringles cans attached to them as if they were natural-born appendages.

The campaign, produced by Grey, will mark the first time the Kellogg’s owned snack brand has enlisted a celebrity in an ad in five years.

Avocados From Mexico

Avocados from Mexico made their seventh appearance in the big game. As Faris and her co-star discover themselves naked in the Garden of Eden, the commercial parodies biblical concepts including Adam and Eve.

Produced by Dallas-based ad agency Lerma, the ad will support the brand’s new campaign designed to celebrate how Avocados From Mexico make everything better, and it will air during the largest consumption period of avocados during the year.

DoorDash

DoorDash tapped celebrity chef Matty Matheson and Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon the Chef to peddle its grocery delivery services this Super Bowl.

Co-developed by The Martin Agency and DoorDash‘s in-house creative team, Superette, ‘We get groceries‘ is meant to tell the masses about the brand‘s offerings beyond restaurant delivery.

Doritos

Missy Elliott joins Harlow in his fascination with the triangle, inspiring him to give up his entire career in rap in favour of the instrument, which is conveniently fashioned like the brand's new Sweet & Tangy BBQ chips. Elton John, who is seen as winning Triangle Player of the Year in the advertisement, quickly eclipses Harlow in a funny turn of events.

It was directed by Wayne McClammy, who is known for his work on the 2015 Geico James Bond parody campaign.

PopCorners

Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul returned to their characters from the popular series Breaking Bad, except this time they were selling PopCorners rather than meth.

Rakuten

On February 6, the official game-day advertisement was unveiled, featuring Silverstone and her Clueless co-star Elisa Donovan discussing economics. Silverstone argues in favour of Rakuten by pointing out how the savings from the website enable her to do more of what she enjoys most: shopping. The advertisement highlights saving at a time when consumer spending would be impacted by rising inflation and an impending recession.

Like Rakuten‘s previous Super Bowl LVI ad, the new spot was developed by its own in-house creative team.

Super Bowl - LVII : What’s the Highlight?

• Jennifer Coolidge has achieved her dream of playing the role of a dolphin with a new Super Bowl ad.

• Rihanna floated into the stadium atop a glowing platform suspended by cables. It was a magical — and slightly scary — entrance, given that she appeared to be hovering a few stories above the field.

A Brief History

For those who are new in the field just like me, let me introduce you to THE SUPER BOWL.

The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game.

Since 2022, the game is played on the second Sunday in February and since then Super Bowl Sunday has become an unofficial holiday in the United States. It's a day when families and friends gather to watch the game, the over-the-top commercials and big-name musical acts at halftime.

Winning teams are awarded the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named for the coach of the Green Bay Packers who won the first two Super Bowls.?

This is how I celebrated Valentine's week, by binge watching the Super Bowl ads (well, I tried watching the game too and it’s the effort that counts, right?)

Stay tuned for more marketing updates and strategies around the world in my next newsletter.

Till then, feel the marketing love in the air. Ciao!