At reportedly $8MN for a single airing of a 30-second spot this year, Super Bowl ads are an expensive affair. Add to it the cost of production (usually top of the line) and celebrity endorsements (which is also common) no wonder marketers seen to extract maximum ROI for their efforts.
No wonder that many campaigns for Super Bowls seem to ‘try too hard’ to be different. Hence they resort to zany humour, outlandish plots, celebrity endorsements and jaw-dropping production values – hoping for impact and the much sought after viral content. Naturally, just these ingredients are no guarantee of success. A core, relevant creative idea (even without any of the expensive elements) can make the ad break the clutter and be talked about. Here are a few ads from this year’s Super Bowl which caught my eye.
Mountain Dew: kiss from a lime ft. Seal
Sometimes just the one line plot of a TV script is enough to evoke peals of laughter and give a ‘seal of approval’. Mountain Dew’s Tropical Lime flavored Baja Blast features singer Seal, as well…a seal breaking into a song he is famous for with lyrics suitably modified. The ad has huge repeat value and likely to have you laugh out loud. I loved the self-deprecating ‘none of this makes sense’ sign off. A super duper hit.
Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners
Meanwhile their social media team is having a bit of fun too.
Google Pixel: Dream Job
A report on a portal dedicated to Apple news described this ad as ‘Applesque‘. Much like many of the famous Apple ads, the service (Google’s Gemini) is at the heart of the plot and conveys a real tangible benefit than something esoteric or cueing a lifestyle change (‘upgrade to something’). Not just fathers of college-going daughters but all parents will relate to the central plot and the unfolding of the story.
Uber Eats: a century of cravings
The big game is a natural fit for food ordering services. Last year, DoorDash created a ‘I wish I had thought of that‘ idea – promising to deliver all the brands advertised during the Super Bowl. This year Uber Eats has cleverly equated the sporting event as a mere excuse to have us all eat more food in a superbly written film.
Agency: Special
Stella Artois: David & Dave
It’s Super Bowl. So don’t look for logic in ads. In this script which appears to have first decided to cast David Beckham and Matt Damon, brings out the laughs – both at the central premise and the barbs in the dialogue.
Agency: Artists Equity Advertising
DoorDash: DashPass Math
Quick commerce and food delivery brands offer subscription services. When you sign up they show a value of savings which is mostly notional (if you hadn’t used the delivery service in the first place, you’d have actually saved even more, right?). This mindset of assuming big savings is given a humorous perspective in this ad promoting DashPass where the protagonist indulges in wasteful, ostentatious expenditure on the back of ‘savings’ from the service.
Agency: Wieden+Kennedy
Instacart: we’re here
A bunch of brand mascots become part of the grocery bag in an ad for Instacart, a delivery service. Some may see it as an inside joke for ad agencies but I guess the characters such Energiser bunny or Jolly Green Giant would be recognised even by the regular audience of the Super Bowl.
Pfizer: knock out
Big Pharma has its fair share of critics and rightfully so. But purely as a creative idea one has to laud this attempt to fight cancer with an apt metaphor. In life, we refer to those who’ve overcome adversity as ‘fighters’ and a literal depiction of it brings the idea to life.
Which one was your favourite? Do comment in.
