WAS SUPER BOWL LVII ADVERTISING EXEMPLARY?

Exemplary adjective serving as a desirable model; representing the best of its kind.

I finally got around to viewing all the commercials aired during Super Bowl LVII. I missed viewing many of the ads during game time, given the pandemonium of socializing with family and indulging on good food and libations throughout the event. 

So, I’m asking for your opinion and weighing in regarding whether Super Bowl LVII advertising was exemplary. What do I mean by exemplary? If we go with whether it was typical for the Super Bowl adstravaganza, the answer is “yes.” It’s obviously what wrong-headed advertisers sought. 

Why “obviously?” More than two-thirds of all the commercials featured at least one celebrity. Two hundred and seventy-seven celebrities appeared in ads during game day. It was typical Super Bowl advertainment.

I’m using “exemplary” to determine whether the advertising represented the best if its kind—for all advertising. You may ask what it means for advertising to be the best of its kind. The answer is that the advertising profitably increases sales and market share.

What do you think?

Overall, I think Super Bowl LVII advertising was largely ineffective. Entertaining, yes. Attention-grabbing, perhaps in many cases. Effective, hardly.

In my professional but humble opinion, the vast majority of the ads were downright ineffective. There are many reasons, among which are:

1. The profusion of celebrities overwhelmed the brand story. In most commercials, there was no brand story about what’s in it for you (WIIFY). Where is the WIIFY in “Me & Ya?” Michelob “New Members’ Day?”
2. If there was a brand story, it was “telling,” not “compelling.” A Big Idea should compel target customers to purchase the advertised brand. Telling isn’t selling, and selling isn’t compelling!
3. There are very few opportunities for “campaignability.” This traces to the absence of an idea other than to use a celebrity. These Super Bowl commercials are essentially one-and-done. There isn’t a campaign idea to sustain them for what the late David Ogilvy suggests as “30 years.” These ads won’t and shouldn’t last beyond three months—if that!
4. Who cares? The focus is on attention-grabbing. However, grabbing attention is not enough. The advertising needs to make target customers care. Did you sufficiently care for any of the messages (not commercials but messages) to purchase the advertised brand? If so, which commercial messages? Did the advertising change your attitudes and behavior to stimulate a purchase of a brand you hadn’t purchased before viewing the advertising?

Last year I highlighted my nomination for Hall of Shame advertising http://bdn-intl.com/hall-of-shame-super-bowl-lv-advertising This year, I have an extensive array from which to choose that are exemplary of how not to advertise: 

• GM’s “Why Not an EV,” 
• Crown Royal “Thank You Canada,” 
• Blue Moon “Beer Battle,” 
• Me & Ya’s “Candy Coated Clam Bites,” 
• Square Space “Singularity,” 
• Remy Martin “Inch by Inch,” 
• Limit Break “Free Digital Collectable,” and
• Heineken “Now You Can Before Shrinking.”

If you get a chance, let me know your choice for Hall of Shame Super Bowl LVII advertising from all the commercials that aired during the big game. I’ll share mine in my weekly LinkedIn publication, “THINK ABOUT IT,” on Thursday.

I’ll also share my choice of “best” ad. Follow me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/richarddczerniawski/, where I share my perspectives from 50 years of successful worldwide brand marketing experience, to receive and read the article.

That brings me up to the “best” ad. I define “best” as inspiring me to purchase. It’s an ad that is exemplary. It must offer a relevant and meaningfully differentiated message to stimulate me to buy it. It needs to make me care. Did any of the ads appearing during the Super Bowl make you care? Care enough to purchase?

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“NINETY-NINE PERCENT OF ADVERTISING DOESN’T SELL MUCH OF ANYTHING.” David Ogilvy

Is your advertising among the ninety-nine percent? Read Chapter 9, “Brand Communications that Suck,” in AVOIDING CRITICAL MARKETING ERRORS: How to Go from Dumb to Smart Marketing. It identifies those critical errors and, importantly, points out the way to develop advertising in the Top 1%. Learn more here: http://bdn-intl.com/avoiding-critical-marketing-errors

Peace and best wishes,