Marketers are Hoping for A Close Game

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By: Dwayne W. Waite Jr.

As the week comes quickly to an end, everyone is preparing their plans for Super Bowl Sunday. Media Day for the players was on Wednesday, where the media gets to ask questions about game day preparations and what they have been doing the past week, and coaches give injury reports and roster updates.

As of the writing of this post, the spread is -3 with the New England Patriots as the favorite to hoist up the Lombardi trophy. Even with one of their star tight ends, the Patriots are still a field goal favorite.

What does this have to do with the commercials? A lot, actually.

According to research done by an Oregon State researcher, the commercials that will be played in the Super Bowl would be viewed more favorably (meaning a higher recall as well) if the game is close.

Yes, the excitement of a close game will transfer those emotions to the ads during and after the game. Those ads with a lot of movement and high energy will be the ones favored above all, says the author of the study. The research also indicated that it didn't matter if the favored team won or lost, as long as the viewer was stimulated, the favorability would be projected onto any ad that followed.

Lucky for Super Bowl advertisers, the big game has rarely been a bust. Only two games in the past decade could be considered as blowouts, and five games in the past ten years have been decided by three points.

What can advertisers do with this information in the future? Does this mean that agencies should contract bookies to see which matchups present the highest probability of a close game, and pick spots and direct creative accordingly? Not necessarily. Should advertisers pull ads when the matchups look terribly lop-sided? Again, with professional teams these days, in any sport, the level of talent dictates that any team can win, and any matchup could be a good one. Perhaps this information provides insight how the ad can resonate with the viewer — make the ad exciting, and if the game is close, it'll be remembered better than the others.

So the Patriots are the favorites. They were in that position before. Let's hope, for advertisers' sake, that it's a good game.

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About the Author

Dwayne W. Waite Jr. is partner and principal at JDW: The Charlotte Agency, a marketing and advertising shop in Charlotte, NC. He enjoys consumer behavior, economics, and football.

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