;Rating The 2009 Super Bowl Ads: Which ones did their job?
I’m not a big sports fan. I never really have been. But, like most business and marketing geeks, I watch the Super Bowl every year for the commercials, not the game (even though I have the admit that the 100 yard return, and the second half in general was pretty amazing)
Although TV ads are not my specialty, I have produced several commercials over the years and have a very good understanding of what they are designed to accomplish, and the strategy behind them.
For all the hoopla that surrounds Super Bowl ads, it’s important to remember that even the big guys are spending a buttload of their yearly ad budget on for a 30 second slot during the big game ($3 Million clams).
While they all should be entertaining at this price, the good ones are hopefully doing a lot more. With that in mind, I’m going to show you a few ads with different marketing goals and rate them on 3 factors:
- Relevance - Did the ad have ANYTHING to do with the product they were trying to sell
- Motivation - Did the ad make you want to take the desired action of the ad (if any)
- Stickiness - Do you remember it? Will you remember it for long?
And now to the ads:
Doritos: Office Ball - Currently #1 Favorite in MSN Poll
Like most successful SB ads, this one was funny as hell - In my opinion, one of the most memorable as well. May be just me, but a guy getting hit in the junk with a snow globe sticks in my memory. I actually thought the Doritos: Lucky Day spot was a much better commercial from a marketing viewpoint, but it didn’t make it into the top rated.
Type: Reminder
Relevance: Showed the product, but no direct tie in.
Motivation: Didn’t move me to go out and get some.
Stickiness: Pretty good. I will remember it for a while, but since it didn’t really motivate me to want Doritos, not particularly useful.
Bud Light: Office Meeting - Currently #3 Favorite in MSN Poll
Type: Reminder
Relevance: Decent. Mentions attributes and why it’s better
Motivation: Again, didn’t want to make me go get one , or change my favorite brand
Stickiness: I think I did laugh out loud at this one, but probably won’t remember it in a few days.
Career Builder: It’s Time - Currently #6 Favorite in MSN Poll
Type: Introduction/Call to action
Relevance: Very relevant. Showed people in similar situations to you…and why your life sucks.
Motivation: If I were looking for a job, I would definitely check this site out.
Stickiness: Brilliant use of repetition in an unusual way. I will remember that dude crying at the trainstation and the koala getting punched (although I found that part oddly disturbing) for a while.
Hulu: Alec Baldwin Currently #9 Favorite in MSN Poll
Although I am not a big Alec Baldwin (or Arec Balrwin, in Team America) I thought he was great in this.
Type: Introduction
Relevance: Excellent. Tells you exactly what HULU is about and why you want it.
Motivation: Good. I’ll probably check it out. Looks cool.
Stickiness: Decent. The laughing scene cracked me up, and the Alec Baldwin impersonation of Tracy Morgan will probably stick in my head a while.
Cash4Gold.com Currently #10 Favorite in MSN Poll
I think they missed the boat on this one. By featuring Ed McMahon and MC Hammer (who are known to be in rough financial shape) in a pretty mocking role, I felt bad for the celebrities more than I wanted to pay attention to what they were selling. The commercial seemed to be taking advantage of Ed and MC being broke by putting them in a self-humiliating ad that looked like their only option for a paycheck.
Type: Introduction
Relevance: Extremely relevant. Showing popular broke celebrities selling all their stuff.
Motivation: Less than none. Actually made me NOT want to check out their product.
Stickiness: Not sure. It definitely won’t be remembered positively.
Etrade
This was probably the most entertaining ad to me in general. The black kid randomly singing “Broken Wings’ made me totally crack up…probably because it’s something I do all the time and it drives people crazy.
Type: Reminder
Relevance: Not sure if babies have anything to do with online stock trading, but it did talk about the product and benefits quite a bit
Motivation: I do use online services for trading, but it didn’t really motivate me to switch
Stickiness: Fantastic. I will remember that kid singing in the middle of the ad for a long time.
What do you think? Would love to hear which 2009 Super Bowl Ads you thought were best and why…
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February 15th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
I loved all of these except one. The Doritos commercial was f’n hilarious for the shock factor. As was career builder. I can’t believe how hard I laughed at the koala punch. Hulu is awesome because of the mocking of their market. Cash 4 Gold…I hate you. I am convinced that this company exist solely to encourage people to beak into someone’s home, steal their gold and sell it without having to answer questions. Btw…none of these commercials made me want their product.
February 15th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
lol. I’d have to agree with you on all points.
February 18th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
[...] example that comes to mind is the recent Cash4Gold commercial that aired during the Super Bowl (I reviewed it and other ads in a recent article here). It starred Ed McMahon and MC Hammer pawning all their goods because they were broke. It was [...]
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