Super Bowl Sunday – the big game is an annual reason to gather round the television and eat, drink, and celebrate with family and friends.
Viewers come for the football, (of course), the half time show (duh), Taylor (yassss)…but the championship game of our nation’s most popular sport is also a pinnacle moment for marketers and brands in their quest for success…. the commercials.
It’s the one night a year that viewers don’t have their fingers poised on the fast forward button (not to mention the fact that it’s one of the few remaining televised events folks will watch live vs. streaming later), and instead clamor to watch commercial breaks just as intently as they do the main event; whether it be for humor, a long awaited movie trailer, an unexpected celebrity endorsement, or simply stay up to speed with tomorrow’s water cooler (or more likely Teams chat) recapping the big night’s winners and losers.
And while the medium of traditional TV advertising is being swapped out for more flexible and budget friendly options like digital and CTV campaigns, the Super Bowl continues to be an exception to this rule, commanding record high $$ for a 30 second spot (approx. $7M just for the airtime this year). With that kind of money on the line, along with a rare opportunity to capture such a large and diverse consumer audience, the stakes don’t get much higher in the game of marketing.
Like many who understand a bit about “how the sausage is made” in the industry, I can’t simply watch the commercials like just any consumer – my mind raced with questions, takeaways, ideas, and insights as I watched the creative work of so many talented teams unfold in front of the millions of viewers.
A few thoughts –
RELEVENCE is RELATIVE –
Our watch “party” was a close family affair of just me, my husband, and our two kids, thanks to the fact that we are still very much mourning the Lion’s loss to the 49’ers two weeks ago. As the myriad of stars flashed across the screen, the fact that our little fam of 4 is comprised of a Gen Xer, a Geriatric Millennial (yours truly), and 2 Gen Alphas became painfully clear. I found myself pondering the relevance of nostalgic stars like LL Cool J, Mr. T, and even Mr. Schwarzenegger himself as I was feverishly trying to explain to my kids who they were and why they were famous. Flip to me Googling Ice Spice and being schooled by my 8-year-old on how lame I am for NOT knowing who she is…
As the night played on and the influx of multigenerational pop culture references continued, I pondered, as I so often do, the concept of role and intent. These ads, as sexy, exciting, expensive, and buzz-worthy as they are, almost certainly have a specific role and intent for the brands they are representing. And with that comes a specific target audience + tailored metrics they hope to achieve. What one consumer or the general public took away as the “best” ad may be a complete flop in the end depending on the objective for the placement. Something less “successful” in the public view may very well be game changing in the trajectory of a brand hoping for a specific outcome. And ultimately, the activation better have landed with the intended target audience - with the wide spectrum of what is relevant to the diverse population of today’s consumer, a one size fits all solution just simply doesn’t exist.
WHERE I PLACE MY BETS
We will all see the articles of who had the best spots and garnered the most critical or consumer acclaim, but let’s be real, consumers vote with their dollars. At the end of the day, brands advertise to generate revenue. We likely won’t ever know which commercials succeeded in their specific goals and objectives for the brands, but I have a few thoughts on where the investments may be paying off.
Cerave
You most likely know and love Cerave for its odorless, effective formulas for treating eczema – SUPER sexy, right? I feel this brand has a cult following of mothers and dermatologists bc...IYKYK, but as a cosmetic brand it doesn’t exactly have what you’d call rizz. Michael Cera could be considered the human equivalent to this brand essence – reliable, pure, wholesome, nothing flashy…a trusted favorite if you are plugged into the right circles.
The genius of this ad is that it was so unexpected, humorous, and nuanced that it hit the mark with both brand fans and also sparked interest from a new consumer that would’ve continued overlooking the brand in the ever increasing glamor of the beauty aisle. I think this move will push incremental growth and brand love far beyond the hype of the big night.
TEMU
What Temu’s ad lacked in production value, humor, star power it made up for in a few critical ways –
It taught consumers how to pronounce the brand's name (it's the little things!) – I have been guilty of mispronouncing it for nearly a year now…something tells me I’m not alone
Awareness, awareness, awareness…while Temu has increasingly been on the radar of a subset of US consumers (much in thanks to Gen Z), the brand hasn’t become a household name quite yet. The multimillion dollar spend for Super Bowl ad domination most definitely made strides in changing that
Credibility –the unbelievably cheap prices combined with the no frills shopping experience of the app lend a bit of a “buyer beware” vibe to Temu – I know I felt like I was rolling the dice on my first few orders, though thankfully the stakes were low enough to take the risk. Any brand that shells out this kind of investment is letting the consumer know they are the real deal. I think many incremental customers will be curious to figure out what “TEH-MOO” is all about, and this builds some trust in taking that leap.
E.L.F
Cosmetic giant E.L.F. has notoriously bucked the trend of traditional cosmetics companies by cutting out the glitz and glam of giant marketing budgets (funded by sky high margins paid by consumers) and passing along the value to the consumer directly via their lowest in market pricing.
Makeup junkies and industry experts likely understand the “brand tax” that the consumers are paying for cosmetics and the value that a brand like E.L.F. can provide at a fraction of the cost, but the value prop may certainly be lost on a larger target market. This ad does a delightful job of:
Building buzz for their brand with a fun and popular ad built to go viral
Spelling out their unique value proposition to the consumer in no uncertain terms
Educating the consumer that they aren’t the bottom of the barrel because they’re less expensive is letting the general population in on a little industry secret – appealing to their hearts and their minds – no better way to build brand love more quickly. I think this ad will have a monster impact on E.L.F.’s growth this year.
While we won’t know for certain how these big bets performed for the brands involved, it is always energizing to see the work come to life. Bringing newness, creativity, and solving consumer pain points is a problem with a never-ending set of solutions, and it is what makes this game of marketing so much fun.