Every year it attracts some of the biggest stars from across the globe who vie to perform at its half time show.
In the past decade Beyonce, Madonna and the Rolling Stones have all appeared… and how could we possibly forget about Janet and Justin in 2004?
In case you missed it, last Sunday 114 million Americans tuned in plus millions of others from a myriad of countries. To give you a little perspective it’s estimated that across America, 325.5 million gallons of beer will have been guzzled down and 1.2 billion wings nibbled.
The Super Bowl doesn’t do things by halves (or quarters) and it’s the same when it comes to advertising. Super Bowl Sunday (and the days preceding it) really is the biggest show of them all.
So, with so many of the world’s biggest brands getting involved we asked a few of Ardmore’s lead creatives to pick their favourite ads.
Over to you Duncan, Chris and Ruth.
Duncan
FORD – Go Further
“Superbowl is a cluttered space, but I felt this was brave and gave huge standout for me.”
The Advert that stood out for me during this year’s Super Bowl was the Ford ‘Go further’ advert.
I thought it had a touch of everything. The advert shows a host of different people going through their own little life struggles, before Ford vehicles come to the rescue with all their different features. The scenarios cover many different demographics and I am sure everyone can relate to at least one. This helps create interest, whilst the scenarios are also humorous, helping to keep engagement.
Keeping the viewers’ attention is vital as they don’t reveal any reference to the brand until over half way through, but they do this perfectly.
The choice of Music is fantastic (Nina Simon's "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free") as it relates to the visuals whilst also being catchy and light-hearted. They chose Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) to deliver the message which is a familiar yet confident voice. They are able to show off some of their cars but the main idea is to celebrate the Ford brand as a business of the future who are trying to make our lives easier. They are about much more than building cars. Amongst a host of adverts for products this is brave but gave huge standout for me. In terms of corporate branding, Ford gave itself a big push.
Chris
LIFEWTR – Inspiration Drops
“They have created an advertisement that is simply awe inspiring and a delight to watch.”
This year there are a few brands taking the opportunity of the Super Bowl to make political statements, totally acceptable – but with the amount of political conversation both locally and internationally on our newsfeeds, sometimes it’s a break from that that stands out more. The colourful and cheery LIFEWTR Super Bowl Advertisement cut through for me whilst sipping on quality H2O (beer counts, right?) and eating my weight in chicken wings smothered in buffalo sauce.
The team at PepsiCo are moving into the ‘premium water’ market with LIFEWTR and they have created an advertisement that is simply awe inspiring and a delight to watch. Directed by Robert Stromberg this stunning piece is made even better with the beautiful lyrics of John Legends ‘Love me now’. The creative theme carries across the product itself, with emerging artists featuring on their packaging. A beautiful watch, if only it looked as amazing as this every time it rains in Belfast!
Ruth
Avocados from Mexico – #AvoSecrets
“It was the brands that managed to continue the conversation online that stood out to me as being the most successful.”
While the vast majority of the ads during this year’s Super Bowl were visually stunning, it was the brands that managed to continue the conversation online that stood out to me as being the most successful. Avocados from Mexico did this brilliantly.
The social campaign #AvoSecrets includes a microsite that looks like a mobile phone with 16 apps including Avo Recipes, Spotify, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Each of the apps directs users to a different experience. If you choose Instagram, for example, you could add a filter and discover secrets within the selected image. You could then share the picture on Twitter with the hashtag #AvoSecrets for the chance to win prizes.
To complement the TV spot, Avocados from Mexico went on the hunt for ambassadors. They selected 30,000 people by targeting certain groups on Facebook and Twitter including mums and health-conscious avocado lovers. They emailed these potential ambassadors and invited them to share promoted content for the brand, knowing that their social impressions would be much more effective than paid for brand activity.
Avocados from Mexico was the third most mentioned brand on Twitter, beating big players including Audi, Doritos and Budweiser. They scored over 2 billion social media impressions before the big game even kicked off. The total is now over 3 billion and counting…
