Superbowl Ad spots
Of course the superbowl ad spots are at the forefront of the American viewing public's mind last night. Design Greater Than, along with other leading marketing and ad agencies, watch these spots with two types of anticipation. First, as stand-up citizens, we want to be entertained and instructed as how to go forth and spend our hard earned dollars in this recession. Second, as marketing gurus - the industry looks to see what trends to take away, and understand where positioning is going.
It's interesting to see how the ads have progressed over the last 15 years or so - not merely the ads themselves, but their relationship to the game. It's become the ultimate opt-in direct broadcast campaign. As the superbowl became a larger and larger cultural phenomenon, the advertising aspect of the event took on more weight. It reached a tipping point - and the ads are now the draw - and non-football fans simply tolerate the game (which was one of the best in recent years).
As always, comedy seems to dominate. That aside - there are some interesting trends to note, all based around a singular, dominating theme...
The Recession. The recession has hit America full force. Entertainment events are meant to disctract, but savvy marketeers were wise to try to capitalize. Monster and Careerbuilder seemed to ignore the real reason why people are going to their sites, but ponying up for 30 second spots says a lot. Career builder had the better ad, by the way - and indicates that they may take advantage of the current situation to close the gap between category leader Monster.
The Cash4Gold.com ad with MC Hammer and Ed McMahon was an even greater acknowledgement of the crisis. Two C-list celebrities who are known best for their fall from the top - hawking their gold. What was once symbols of excess (gold hip replacement, LOL) are now needed to bail themselves out. If that's not a love letter to the American people, I don't know what is. The fact that this company has the capital to run a superbowl ad, and thinks there is an ROI on 3 million dollars also says a lot. Priceline and overstock were others who were capitalizing on people's desire to get thrifty.
Motor vehicles. There was a lot of talk about who wasn't there, and it's important. None of the Big 3 were there. None. Not even Ford, who is doing slightly better. That was a shock. Toyota's Ad was for a small car, and the ad felt small. It seemed as if it was trying to sell people on compromising. Audi had a fun ad - I guess there's always a space for luxury cars. Who was the big dog on four wheels? Hyundai. They won the big awards Detroit - and these guys came out swinging. They've got a more impressive line-up, and they are letting people know they are now a threat to the big auto makers. It's also an acknowledgment that people are ready to compromise - but not on a sub-compact. Rather people are questioning things like the prestige value of owning a premium brand like Honda and Toyota.
Visio ran a pretty lackluster ad for electronics - but it was a similar assault on the premium brands like Sony and Samsung. This is important to note, because it signals that the underdogs feel there is an addressable market they can capture, and that marketeers feel that in fact, people are in the process of questioning the nature of how they consume. Is it really necessary to have the brand that will impress the Joneses, when the Joneses are fighting foreclosure.
Beer, beer and beer. Recession-proof (or maybe even recession beneficiaries) Budweiser stole the show with a massive blitz of ads. Not much new there, the mix of Clydesdale and humor ads. The sheer number may indicate some of InBev's colossal capital at work, and a desire to help American's remember that their favorite American beer is technically European now. Snack foods and soda, the mainstay of party time, also put up a strong showing. I have to say that SoBe's ad was an epic failure - they did nothing to tie their drink into the ad, and it was muddled and confusing. Leveraging the "3-D" gimmic didn't help, which brings me to...
3-D ad spots. Wow - this was a bust, and it does not bode well for the 3D technology that is again trying to get a foothold in cinemas. I took my son to see Bolt in 3D, and it was amazing. The new technology creates a real illusion of depth, and if you haven't seen it, it impossible to understand how amazing it is. But these glasses they gave out at home is the same old technology, and all it did was remind people what they don't like about conventional 3-D. Aliens versus Monsters, which is going to get the good 3-D treatment, used the gimmicky 3-D ads. If I hadn't seen Bolt, I would be expecting MvA to look like the ad, which is not good. They should have had a disclaimer at the end: Movie will look much better than this mess.
So that's the Design Greater Than superbowl roundup. An breathtaking 4th quarter, and some pretty interesting ads - in content, underlying message, and the players who chose to put skin in the game.
It's interesting to see how the ads have progressed over the last 15 years or so - not merely the ads themselves, but their relationship to the game. It's become the ultimate opt-in direct broadcast campaign. As the superbowl became a larger and larger cultural phenomenon, the advertising aspect of the event took on more weight. It reached a tipping point - and the ads are now the draw - and non-football fans simply tolerate the game (which was one of the best in recent years).
As always, comedy seems to dominate. That aside - there are some interesting trends to note, all based around a singular, dominating theme...
The Recession. The recession has hit America full force. Entertainment events are meant to disctract, but savvy marketeers were wise to try to capitalize. Monster and Careerbuilder seemed to ignore the real reason why people are going to their sites, but ponying up for 30 second spots says a lot. Career builder had the better ad, by the way - and indicates that they may take advantage of the current situation to close the gap between category leader Monster.
The Cash4Gold.com ad with MC Hammer and Ed McMahon was an even greater acknowledgement of the crisis. Two C-list celebrities who are known best for their fall from the top - hawking their gold. What was once symbols of excess (gold hip replacement, LOL) are now needed to bail themselves out. If that's not a love letter to the American people, I don't know what is. The fact that this company has the capital to run a superbowl ad, and thinks there is an ROI on 3 million dollars also says a lot. Priceline and overstock were others who were capitalizing on people's desire to get thrifty.
Motor vehicles. There was a lot of talk about who wasn't there, and it's important. None of the Big 3 were there. None. Not even Ford, who is doing slightly better. That was a shock. Toyota's Ad was for a small car, and the ad felt small. It seemed as if it was trying to sell people on compromising. Audi had a fun ad - I guess there's always a space for luxury cars. Who was the big dog on four wheels? Hyundai. They won the big awards Detroit - and these guys came out swinging. They've got a more impressive line-up, and they are letting people know they are now a threat to the big auto makers. It's also an acknowledgment that people are ready to compromise - but not on a sub-compact. Rather people are questioning things like the prestige value of owning a premium brand like Honda and Toyota.
Visio ran a pretty lackluster ad for electronics - but it was a similar assault on the premium brands like Sony and Samsung. This is important to note, because it signals that the underdogs feel there is an addressable market they can capture, and that marketeers feel that in fact, people are in the process of questioning the nature of how they consume. Is it really necessary to have the brand that will impress the Joneses, when the Joneses are fighting foreclosure.
Beer, beer and beer. Recession-proof (or maybe even recession beneficiaries) Budweiser stole the show with a massive blitz of ads. Not much new there, the mix of Clydesdale and humor ads. The sheer number may indicate some of InBev's colossal capital at work, and a desire to help American's remember that their favorite American beer is technically European now. Snack foods and soda, the mainstay of party time, also put up a strong showing. I have to say that SoBe's ad was an epic failure - they did nothing to tie their drink into the ad, and it was muddled and confusing. Leveraging the "3-D" gimmic didn't help, which brings me to...
3-D ad spots. Wow - this was a bust, and it does not bode well for the 3D technology that is again trying to get a foothold in cinemas. I took my son to see Bolt in 3D, and it was amazing. The new technology creates a real illusion of depth, and if you haven't seen it, it impossible to understand how amazing it is. But these glasses they gave out at home is the same old technology, and all it did was remind people what they don't like about conventional 3-D. Aliens versus Monsters, which is going to get the good 3-D treatment, used the gimmicky 3-D ads. If I hadn't seen Bolt, I would be expecting MvA to look like the ad, which is not good. They should have had a disclaimer at the end: Movie will look much better than this mess.
So that's the Design Greater Than superbowl roundup. An breathtaking 4th quarter, and some pretty interesting ads - in content, underlying message, and the players who chose to put skin in the game.
posted by Brant at
8:38 AM
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