In both cases, the message is clear: The money saved by not buying an ad can be passed on to the consumer.
Similarly, Starbucks is making the day after, a notoriously tough day for tired sports fans, a win for customers, offering a free coffee.
By leaning into a weekend specifically associated with ads, brands are able to join the conversation and showcase how they show up for their audience.
What’s the big takeaway?
Brands are still willing to spend millions on lackluster ideas while their biggest fans feel ignored. The spots that went emotional and leaned into their customers, and their struggles, were able to connect on a deeper level and make others feel seen.
Brands are stuck in the assumption that people talking about them is enough and the sentiment doesn’t really matter, but the response you trigger is important. Awareness isn’t enough, especially when the brands that have enough resources to buy a Super Bowl ad aren’t usually lacking in the awareness department. To get them to remember you, you need to trigger an emotional response; you can then trigger a behavior. A yawn is not the behavior you want.
For many watching the game, there were a few ads here and there that really struck a chord, but the rest played about as well as the Chiefs did.
