ASIDE FROM watching the two best teams in the NFL compete for the Vince Lombardi Trophy, my second-favorite aspect of the game is watching the commercials. Each year, many of the most well-known brands in business attempt to capture the attention of American consumers. This year, the Super Bowl was watched by over 1.23 million people. It’s an astonishing number and an opportunity for brands to capture mindshare and hopefully see promising results.
This year, Super Bowl LVIII was the most-watched Super Bowl of all time. Fueled by the hype about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s very public relationship, along with the Kansas City Chiefs’ attempt to win back to back Super Bowls, the game certainly did not disappoint. But how did the commercials fare?
According to the 160,000 people who voted in 36th USA TODAY Ad Meter competition, the State Farm “Like a Good Neighbaaa” featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito was the most popular amongst fans. The ad showcased Schwarzenegger’s struggle with correctly pronouncing “neighbor” and DeVito filling in to correctly enunciate the “r.”
My personal favorite, “The Dunkings” by Dunkin’, featuring a star-studded cast including Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Tom Brady and Matt Damon, came in as the second-favorite. They also did an outstanding job teasing the ad prior to the Super Bowl and cited a big announcement coming out on Feb. 11. Dunkin’ also released ads over the last few months featuring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez that created familiarity with the cast and messaging.
Here are a few other observations that could help marketers with their future campaigns.
Celebrities sell
A vast swath of this year’s Super Bowl commercials contained A-list celebrities, and there’s a good reason for that. It works. Using well-known celebrities in ads helps people remember the commercial. It also connects the audience with someone they are familiar with and amplifies the messaging. This year, the average cost of a 30-second Super Bowl commercial was a whopping $7 million. When you consider the cost of producing the ad, plus the cost of the celebrity appearances, the amount is staggering. I often wonder how many brands actually see a return on their investment.
Where were the QR codes?
One thing I noticed was the absence of QR codes in the commercials. In my opinion, this is a missed opportunity for all brands who neglected to leverage this commonly used technology to engage with consumers. QR codes allow viewers to scan a code visible in the ad with their phone and it directs them to a website experience. This immediately puts consumers into a sales funnel and allows brands to remarket to them. QR codes were drastically underutilized this year and many brands missed the opportunity to capture valuable consumer data.
The Kia commercial missed the mark
I thought the “Perfect 10” Kia commercial was one of the best. It tugged at your emotions and showcased a granddaughter performing a figure skating routine for her grandfather in front of his home. It was extremely well-produced and it’s one of the few that I remember vividly. However, there is one problem. While I remembered the commercial, I didn’t remember it was Kia. I actually had to look it up after the game. Perhaps this was intentional, but they could have done a much better job giving visibility to the brand. I spoke to a few friends about this and while most people remember the actual ad, I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t recall the car manufacturer who produced that commercial.
Christopher Thompson (christhompsnh@gmail.com) writes Closing the Deal weekly.
