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VOL. 37 | NO. 5 | Friday, February 1, 2013
Super Bowl sure thing: Clever ads
The victory of the Ravens or the 49ers won’t be all people are talking about after the Super Bowl.
After all, there are the commercials, and considering 110 million viewers are anticipated for this year’s football matchup, it’s no wonder advertisers pony up big bucks. Thirty-second spots went for $3.8 million to $4 million this year – an all-time record, up from $3.5 million in 2012.
Here’s what to expect from the big brand’s big investment this year.
Celebrity endorsements will include: Former Saturday Night Live cast members Amy Poehler for Best Buy and Tracy Morgan for Kraft’s Mio sports drink, Kate Upton and Usher for Mercedes Benz, and Kaley Cuoco from “The Big Bang Theory” for Toyota.
GoDaddy has wisely determined, based on feedback on prior year’s Super Bowl ads, that objectifying women is not the most viable strategy for selling website domain name registry and hosting. Look for a more conservative campaign this year.
Anheuser-Busch will air a spot devoted to the iconic Clydesdale horses – including a much-anticipated new foal. The brand will solicit names for the new foal via Twitter.
Audi took a page out of the Doritos playbook by letting fans vote on the ad that airs. The winning prom-themed spot depicts a high school boy, so full of courage thanks to the Audi his father let him drive to prom, that he kisses the unsuspecting prom queen and gets punched in the eye.
Doritos is back with two spots chosen by consumers through its “Crash the Super Bowl” contest – now in its seventh year. The producer of the ad performing higher on the USA Today Ad Meter gets to work on the next Transformers movie.
Oreo will promote its 100-year anniversary with a spot said to pit fans of the cookie’s creamy filling against those who are mad for the crunchy cookie. Let the cookie war begin.
Kia, which ran the “Sand Man” spot last year featuring supermodel Adriana Lima, has released a teaser of their spot featuring a baby and a whole host of wildlife all donning space suits.
VW’s spot is set in everyday office life and suggests that driving a VW helps you get happy. The brand reportedly spent $10 million to produce and air the spot – a risky move considering early criticism for its controversial portrayal of a Minnesotan with a Jamaican accent.
Soda Stream pre-released its spot depicting big soda manufacturers as environmentally unfriendly. In a controversial move, CBS reportedly required a toning down of the content to avoid alienating long-time advertisers Pepsi and Coca-Cola.
Check back next week for the rundown on the big game’s advertising winners and losers. Visit www.redrovercompany.com/superbowl to vote for your favorite.
Lori Turner-Wilson is an award-winning columnist and managing partner of RedRover Sales & Marketing, www.redrovercompany.com, with offices in Memphis and Nashville. Follow RedRover on Twitter (@redrovercompany and @loriturner) and Facebook (facebook.com/redrovercompany).