Last Sunday, 111.3 million people tuned into NBC to watch the Super Bowl. Some brands nailed it. Some floundered. And, others should have never even set foot on the advertising field. In this article, Andrew Davis breaks down the three best commercials, and the three worst, according to the four elements of an effective Super Bowl ad.
Catch a few episodes of AMC's hit series Mad Men and you'll see that advertising back in the day had one primary goal — the creation of a catchy slogan. There was a faith that the right slogan could magically uplift even the most humdrum product. The foundation of these slogans were simple puns that relied on the allure of a clever turn of phrase, such as Morton Salt's "When it Rains, It Pours." But just like the fedora, reliance on slogans has fallen from fashion. Take a look at Brandz's list of the most valuable brands and see how many slogans you can name.
Bedding giant Simmons is undergoing a "complete brand transformation," the focus of which will be on its flagship Beautyrest brand. Driven by a "consumer-centric" approach, Simmons is introducing a new logo, tagline, and advertising campaign.
The Super Bowl Score isn’t in yet. Yes, we all know the outcome of the New York Giants' battle with the New England Patriots, but the score I’m talking about is the other one; the one that gives us the ranking for the top 10 commercials. This year for the first time involves USA Today’s Ad Meter and the forces of Facebook, and those results won’t be in until Tuesday evening. We all know that Super Bowl commercials are as entertaining as the game itself.
RIM's "bold" Twitter campaign — asking followers how they would be "bold" in 2012 — was fairly brand appropriate for a producer of the quintessential (though fading) "work phone." "Bold" seems like the type of word that Blackberry-using professionals would like to use to describe themselves. However, the campaign's resulting "Bold Team" was highly questionable (and criticized).
According a National Retail Federation study conducted by BIGinsight, 73% of viewers of the Super Bowl see commercials as entertainment. This sets a high standard for advertisers for not only capturing the attention of viewers distracted at parties, or looking down from the television to check Facebook on their phone. It also requires that they keep consumers entertained.
Here's the double-edged question that every client is bound to ask their marketing agency: When should we be advertising? As someone who owns an agency, the answer I immediately want to shout out is "ALL THE TIME!" Unfortunately, that's not exactly the right way to respond to ensure that the client's needs are being met. With a question like this, the client is looking to you (their agency) to play the part of "the expert" and provide an answer that will help them shape their marketing strategy for the foreseeable future.
How well does your logo represent your brand? Could strangers to your brand know what you do, simply by viewing your logo? As designer Adam Ladd's five-year-old daughter proves, some are iconic, others are interchangeable, and some are almost baffling. If you haven't seen this video, Ladd recorded his young daughter's reaction to a diverse series of 29 established brand logos.
This year’s Super Bowl battle has already started. Before the teams even hit the gridiron, advertisers have jumped onto the field with the hopes of taking an early lead and running up the score. Well before Manning or Brady completes their first pass, marketers are avoiding the coin toss and going head-to-head to compete, not for the Lombardi Trophy, but for the ultimate Super Bowl prize…you! The Super Bowl is a huge event for sports and marketers alike.
In recent years, many brands have "gone green" to improve their environmental impact. Organic, recyclable, locally-sourced — "green" takes many forms. Lately, green is turning brown. The prevalence of the green movement has resulted in a variety of "certified" green labels popping up.
