Last night’s Super Bowl Commercials will be remembered for being very entertaining and providing great exposure to many celebrities. However, the real question will be which advertisements were worth the $6.5 million for 30 seconds in the biggest television event of the year.
Advertisers are faced with a balancing act between the artistic vision and making sure the viewer makes some connection with the brand being advertised. This year, I am afraid the artistic vision won over the return on the investment in too many of the commercials.
My provocative commentary below is designed to stimulate thoughtful conversation. I have also provided links to all the commercials. So, if you left to grab a bag of TOSTITOS or to pour another glass of Michelob Untra and missed the $26 million dollars of advertising in those 2 minutes, you can catch up on what you missed.
Budweiser Six degrees of separation– Budweiser returns to their core audience of everyday beer drinkers in this commercial that focusing on sharing. They also enlist the help of the Clydesdales and bring back their terrific slogan, “This Bud’s for you.” While I like the commercial, this mellow spot missed the wow factor to get noticed in the Super Bowl environment. Using Kevin Bacon as the narrator (from six degrees) won’t get noticed either.
Oikos Yogurt Deion Sanders Family Reunion effectively drives home the point that Stronger Makes Everything Better. Is that a product benefit for yogurt?
Google Pixel – Here is a commercial that addresses a specific problem – camera technology has not been able to accurately represent darker skin tones. In 60 seconds, the problem is identified, and we see the solution captured in great photographs of real people. This creates a Specific Edge over their competitors with more than just customers with darker skin tones and reflects well on the brand. Having Lizzo sing “If You Love Me” was brilliant.
Meta Quest – It is hard to challenge one of the most successful companies in the world (7th in total earnings) on their strategic thinking, but is this commercial by Meta (formally known as Facebook) about virtual reality or virtual depression?
Kia – Robo Dog – Here is a commercial that captures your attention and features an electric car in a fun way. Robo Dog makes the emotional connection, and the Electric Kia is the hero here. As much as I enjoyed the commercial, I can only hope that viewers will remember which electric car saved Robo Dog.
Rakuten – Great Casting of Hannah Waddingham (Septa in Game of Thrones and Rebecca, the team owner in Ted Lasso.) However, Rakuten is a service that still needs explaining. So flashing the brand name in the middle of an entertaining poker game might generate awareness, but is not worth the gamble.
Toyota – Establishing an emotional bound between the brand and its customers is a very challenging task but can pay big dividends long term. Toyota has managed to do that on a consistent basis with their association with the Olympics. This commercial featuring the McKeever brothers is another great example of brand building as it has no product pictures and just makes you feel good about Toyota. And that is saying something. (Mike has become friends with the Pease Brothers (a similar story) and watched them finish the Ironman World Championship as well as start a foundation to help other challenged athletes participate in triathlons and running races.)
Square Space – I have been very critical of Square Space ads in the Super Bowl for years, but this year I believe they got it right. Sally Sells Sea Shells is a fun commercial that actually focuses on what Square Space does…helps businesses grow by successfully leveraging the power of the internet.
Pringles – Stuck on you – Good title for this commercial. It describes how I am feeling as I try to write something creative on this one. I just do not get how this drawn-out story has anything to do with the product. The only positive thing I can say is the Pringles packages got great placements throughout the commercial even though the placements were totally irrelevant.
Amazon Alexa-Celebrity couple Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost dealing with an Alexa upgrade that can read your mind, is a bold move for a very popular technology that is under constant attack for privacy concerns. But since the stuff Alexa comes up with is so funny, the mind reading enhancement obviously is a bad idea, the commercial is a good idea. Glad to see Amazon can still laugh at themselves.
Salesforce.com – Matthew McConaughey challenges the idea of searching for a new frontier versus focusing on solving the basic climate related problems on Earth. This is a brilliantly written and directed segment to encourage greater focus on being better stewards of Planet Earth. However, the pace of the commercial may diminish the impact in the Superbowl environment. I believe the term for this is peeing in the dark. It will give the senior executives at Salesforce.com a warm feeling, but no one will notice it in the dark.
Rocket Homes and Rocket Mortgage – In this highly competitive housing market, Rocket Homes creates a fun environment with Anna Kendrick (an actress), Barbie (a doll) and children playing in a doll house to somehow deliver all the product benefits. The balance between the artistic vision and the promoting the brands is just right.
Chevy Silverado Electric – This commercial does a great job playing off the popularity of the Soprano’s TV series by bringing Jamie-Lynn Sigler (Meadow Soprano) and Robert Iler (A.J. Soprano) together in a familiar New Jersey setting while still featuring the new truck. Here is an example of finding the right balance between the product and the creative.
BMW – Since the Greek God Zeus was know for Thunder and Lightning, here is a celebrity that is perfect for introducing the BMW Ultimate Electric Driving Machine. The creative is relevant to the product and provides just the right spark to get noticed and remembered.
Draft King – I do not understand the strategy here. Yes, life is a gamble but what does adding $1 million into 5 existing customers accounts and advertising this during the game do for bringing in new customers? The timing is bad as I am not sure the offer can be redeemed for the lucky 5 when the commercial is aired. I would not bet on this one.
Avocados from Mexico – Avocados turning “the worst tailgate” into a great party is not so creative unless you put the party at the Roman Coliseum 2,000 years ago . And what a nice creative tweak to have Andy Richter playing Caesar to remind people avocados are great on salads too.
Polestar – It is unusual for a car maker that has an electric car that is not even in the top 12 models sold in 2021 to develop a super bowl commercial that focuses more on what it is not, and little about what it is. And in keeping with the theme, they also use no sound. This makes no sense.
Carvana – Carvana creates their specific edge by focusing on the positive benefits of their buying experience versus going to a traditional car dealership. Focusing on the positives is a stronger position than Carvana’s primary competitor that dramatizes the negatives of the buying experience. All brands need such raving supporters.
Michelob Ultra- I would not expect The Superior Bowling Alley to be on the short list of locations for a Michelob Ultra commercial. There definitely is a storyline here, but I had to try too hard to figure it out. There were a lot of strikes in this commercial, but all I saw was a gutter ball.
WeatherTech – Here is a novel idea for a super bowl commercial. An advertiser that focuses on their products. This may not rock the charts in the popularity contest, but it will drive sales for the company paying $6.5 million for the time.
Uber Eats – When “Eats” is in your name, you need to do something dramatic to let people know you deliver more than food. Uber found that something more and delivered the message in a humorous way that will break through the clutter of the Super Bowl and is very tasteful.
Caesar’s Sports Book – Here is an image ad for Caesar’s Sports Book in a new and rapidly growing industry that has plenty of well financed competitors in search of a competitive advantage. A real challenge in a category that might be perceived as a commodity. Having Halle Berry (Academy Award Winner,) JB Smoove (Curb Your Enthusiasm), and The Manning’s (Football’s first family) anchor this commercial is a good start, but I would not bet on it.
Gillette – The shaving business relies on ongoing product improvements to stay competitive. Exfoliation is the newest thing, and it is a new word in my vocabulary. Exfoliation is the process of removing dead skin cells from the outer layer of your skin. This is a great product sell commercial. Whether the Super Bowl was the right venue is unknown.
Turkish Airline – Morgan Freeman narrates a strong image campaign on how Turkish Airline “connects more countries than any other airline in the world.“ When you are the 12th largest airline in the world, a fact like this allows you to fight in a higher weight class.
Planet Fitness – What happened to Lindsay Lohan? They have surrounded her with a bunch of celebrities to dramatize how working out helps her clean up her life and feel Fitacular.
Bud Light Seltzer – Celebrity Chief Guy Fieri, plays the mayor of Flavortown and declares Bud Light Seltzer “The Loudest Flavor in Town.” In a category that is differentiated primarily by flavor, romancing this attribute in a dramatic and hip way is worth toasting to.
Lay’s – Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd team up to relive “good memories” being together. This commercial will do well with fans of Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd, but it strikes me as being very scary for building the brand beyond those followers.
General Motors – All in for All Electric is a strong claim. So is 30 Electric Vehicles by 2025. So if the company is really serious about going from a straggler to a leader in electric vehicles in the next three years, why would they trivialize this idea with a commercial that will surely get plenty of laughs but lacks credibility. They should put the brakes on this one.
Booking.com – Idris Elba does a great job of delivering the brand name – Booking.com during these short vignettes, but I am afraid his most important line, “that is why we are Planet Earth’s Number One Site for Booking accommodations” gets lost in the delivery.
Intuit Quick Books and Mail Chimp – If the idea for combining Quick Books and Mail Chimp is to take the confusion out of running a small business and help owners “Set-up and Grow” this commercial does a great job on communicating confusion but falls short on the “Set-up and Grow.” In all fairness, this would work better in a 2-hour seminar targeted at small business owners instead of 30 seconds targeted at 110 million people.
Cutwater Spirits in a Can – Cutwater is focusing on a great target audience, “The ones who live life differently, working smarter not harder.” However, that audience did not get there listening to a slow-paced Super Bowl commercial. But when you have one of the greatest beverage distribution systems backing you as in Anheuser Busch InBev, maybe your advertising does not have to be the smartest.
Vroom – A lot of people dread the experience of buying a new car and Vroom has done a very good job of promoting an alternative. Now they offer an alternate way to sell a car. Congratulations on changing the demonstration from frightening and scary to high energy and fun to communicate the point.
Irish Springs – Promoting a deodorant soap during the Super Bowl is a tough challenge to tackle. But Irish Springs leverages their brand name to create a wacky commercial that connects the brand with the benefit and is worth a touchdown.
Nissan – Eugene Levy stars in an incredible, action-packed commercial that transforms him from a conservative coat and tie kind of guy to the best special effects thriller of the evening. I assume this commercial was aired to build the brand, as the model featured is not among the 12 models they currently sell. This is another commercial that will break through the clutter and will be remembered for the creative but not for the advertiser.
Taco Bell Grande Escape – If the objective of this commercial is to position the Taco Bell brand as a great place to get away from the mundane, then they succeeded. But I am not sure if this is new news for anyone.
Hellmann’s – Jerod Mayo (Legendary Linebacker) dramatically tackles food waste by “encouraging” people to use Hellman’s on leftovers. Positioning the product as a great way to improve leftovers is an interesting idea but the execution maybe more waste than taste.
Budweiser – The Clydesdale commercial was the perennial favorite for many years on the Superbowl as it effectively pulled at relevant heart strings and made an emotional connection to the brand. There were too many leaps in this attempt to make the connection and will leave the creative team wounded.
Sam’s Club – Comedian Kevin Hart pitches the Scan and Go technology now available at Sam’s Club. This is a great competitive advantage for a warehouse store and the use of this celebrity enhances the level of interest in this important message. I am just not sure the Super Bowl is the right venue for delivering this message.
Greenlight – Making the idea of responsible spending engaging in 30 seconds is a challenge. Putting it in the extraordinary high energy environment of the Super Bowl is something the advertiser should not say, “I’ll take it.” It should have been a Red light.
Bud Light Next – Here is a 60 second spot that focuses on a generation that “Got to move,” Got to get out,” “Got to leave this place.” In other words, “Zero in the way of possibility.” That provides the transition to the last four seconds that announces Zero Carbs. This leaves (a member of the wrong generation) with a “What?” instead of the traditional Bud Light “Wow!” In a talent show, the word “Next” is a hook to move on to the next contestant. How appropriate.
Expedia uses Ewan McGregor to ask us when we look back at our lives, will we regret any of the things we did not buy. .. or the places we didn’t go. I understand the value of experiences over “stuff”, but I think the idea gets lost in the creative. I also challenge whether Expedia should be trying to generate primary demand for the travel industry or secondary demand for travelers to use Expedia to book their travel.
Turbo Tax – Turbo Tax needs people with unusual circumstances that result in complicated taxes. And their timing of the middle of February for tax preparation is perfect. While I am generally not a fan of financial services in the Super Bowl, I believe this one will generate a return.
T Mobile – Having Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton sing the product benefits for T Mobile 5 G is a bad idea for the performers and does not make the connection for the advertiser.
Hologic – Mary J. Blige, one of the stars in the Super Bowl Half Time Show promotes the importance of an annual health screening for Hologic, an organization focused on women’s health.
FTX (a Bahamian cryptocurrency exchange), Coin Base (a cryptocurrency exchange platform that spent $13 million to bounce a QR code for 60 seconds across the screen) , and Etora (The Power Of Social Investing) – I have decided to lump these Crypto commercials together with one joint comment. If I have to search the internet to figure out what they do, there must be a problem with what they are doing on the Super Bowl. I am sure these companies represent a new generation of investing, but if they are going to be a part of the future, they better start spending their marketing dollars on educating the potential investors on the benefits
About Mike Wien – After spending 28 years in senior marketing roles at Frito-Lay, Pepsi, CitiBank, Omni Hotels and Deloitte, Mike left the Corporate World to teach Marketing and Franchising at Georgia State University. Four years ago, Mike semi-retired, moved to Boulder, Colorado to spend more time skiing and training for Ironman Triathlon and marathon races. In the past 6 months, Mike has won his age group in the Ironman 70.3 World Championship, the Boston Marathon, The New York Marathon and the Disney Marathon. When he is not skiing or training, he is working with a few clients on marketing strategy or providing keynote speeches to companies on gaining a competitive advantage or a “Specific Edge.”
Mike Wien
The Specific Edge Institute
345 Erie Drive
Boulder, Colorado 80303