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Best Super Bowl ad of all time?

February 3rd, 2012

Why do brands, year after year, spend upwards of $3.5 million on a 30-second Super Bowl spot? Because with those 30 seconds in the spotlight comes media coverage, instant social media buzz – sometimes positive, sometimes negative – and weeks of viral chatter. And for the brands that really do it right, those weeks can turn into years. So which spots have remained ingrained in our minds and hearts?

We polled our team. What was their favorite Super Bowl ad? Most were different, but each was quickly recalled and ardently defended. Despite a legion of Apple devotees no one picked 1984. We have a number of sports-themed spots but our coke drinkers ignored Mean Joe Greene. Here’s what they said:

Google’s “Parisian Love”
The storytelling completely captured me. At the end, my two other roommates and myself all let out a simultaneous “Awwww.” –Jenna

FedEx Caveman
A balance between simplicity and complexity, comedic folly and best intentions, a cliché play but totally original. –Daniel

Reebok’s Terry Tate “Official Linebaker”
Still kills me every time I see it. It’s a relatively light touch on branding, geared towards driving views to episodes at reebok.com. It was memorable and infinitely quotable, plus there was a thematic tie-in to the big game. –Steve

It’s hilarious. And extremely well written. –Jeff

It simply made me laugh hysterically. When I first saw this commercial I thought to myself, “Our office could totally use an Office Linebacker!” –Will

FedEx Kinkos
I love this one. It shows a great way to do smart comedy through parody. –Jack

Volkswagen Beetle
It was unique, visually so fun, and cute! Also loved how they integrated digital and extended the life of the campaign by showing outtakes, additional clips, how it was made, etc., on YouTube. –Laura

Pepsi: Refresh Anthem
It’s an interesting, never before produced idea and I love the historical aspects. A lot of kids watch the Super Bowl with their parents, so it seems like a good way to bridge the gap between the two generations. –Abby

Doritos Pug Attack
It’s not the Super Bowl without funny ads. I’ve done a lot of comedy writing/performing, so this is a classic case of “set-up and pay-off,” only the pay-off is not quite what you’d expect. Plus, who doesn’t love a dog video? –Abby (she picked two)

NFL “Best Fans Ever”
It’s hard to rival – pop culture icons from 19 shows, spanning over 40 years, all speaking passionately about the product, all in 60 seconds. It combines unexpected content in such a unique way to entertain, deliver for the brand and leave the viewer wanting more. –Kelly

Coca Cola’s polar bear ads
This year’s ads look preeeetty awesome. –Alan

“When I Grow Up” Monster
Super Bowl ads don’t normally hit the trifecta: entertain, brand and sell. Most people can’t even recall the product in most Super Bowl spots. This was advertising at its most brilliant. –Brian

Betty White Snickers
The best ads are simple, funny and memorable. You spend 20 seconds wondering where they are going with Betty White playing tackle football in the mud. I laughed out loud when Abe Vigoda gets sacked. That’s good casting and good writing. –Mark B.

Because I absolutely adore her! Perfectly cast, and hilarious. –Jacque

Not only did this ad reinvigorate 88-year-old Betty White’s career, but it positioned Snickers as a company that could have a little fun. –Courtney

The 2002 Tribute to the victims of Sept. 11.
Timely, emotional, memorable. Forever a reminder of how our lives changed that day. –Fred

Coca Cola It’s Mine
Taking something as classic as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and Coca Cola to tell the story. And who doesn’t want Charlie to win? –Selena

We’re Going to Disney World
It has cemented the Disney theme park brand as THE place where the most famous, happening people want to go on vacation. –Mark F.

VW The Force
Like this little Darth Vader, I too pretend that I have the force (especially when I go through automatic doors). The subtle reactions the little kid had and the imperial march music, added a sentimental value that brought a smile to my face. –Andrew

E*Trade “Enzo the Tailor”
Who doesn’t love a witty talking toddler? Actually, I think a lot of people find these ads annoying but they crack me up every time. Plus, the use of humor to communicate portfolio management effectively presents E*Trade as an approachable solution. –Alex

McDonald’s: the Showdown
Golden age of NBA. Jordan & Bird. Quoted on playgrounds everywhere. “Off the expressway, over the river, off the billboard, through the window, off the wall – nothin’ but net.” –Todd

Posted by Alexandra Paparsenos | Share: Twitter, Facebook, Del.icio.us, LinkedIn

The legends, the one-hit wonders & the comeback kings

February 2nd, 2012

Beyond the actual game, the most heated debates in the aftermath of this Sunday’s Super Bowl will center on two expressions of creativity – the commercials and the halftime show.

Super Bowl ads are our industry’s most widely viewed and closely scrutinized expressions of creativity. And with good reason. With investments averaging $3.5 million for a half-minute of America’s time, along with thousands, if not millions, more to create and produce each ad, some of America’s most famous brands will make heavy wagers on Sunday’s game.

Last year’s Super Bowl was the most watched television program in history with 111 million viewers. This year’s edition is expected to surpass that mark. Are there really that many football fans? No. The Super Bowl is a cultural experience that far transcends sport, spans all demographics, and attracts people who won’t look at another football game all year. The ads have become one of the big reasons why.

I tend to think of Super Bowl advertisers like popular music acts. There are the legends who endure, the one-hit wonders and the comeback kings.

Some brands that will advertise on Sunday are like The Beatles (think Budweiser) – they release new songs every year; almost all are good, some are great – including the 1989 Bud Bowl spot that pitted Bud and Bud Light against each other in an epic battle of the bottles, a spot that was created by the “P” in CTP, Grant Pace.

Other ads on Sunday will be remembered as one-hit wonders. Musically, you can take your pick here (nothing like a little Who Let The Dogs Out before the game Sunday). Ad-wise, two of the best were Dirt Devil’s 1997 ad featuring Fred Astaire 10 years after his death and a digitally added vacuum cleaner, and Nuveen Investments’ 2000 ad featuring the late Christopher Reeve .

Will there be a Santana or Bob Dylan in the mix this year, a comeback brand that’s trying to remake a faded image with a big splash? Chrysler did it last year with an ode to Detroit.

Some of the best spots are long, like last year’s two-minute Chrysler ad. Others are short, like Miller High Life’s 2009 spot that was all of 1 second long .

My all-time favorite is from The Beatles, I mean Budweiser. The 2002 Tribute to the victims of Sept. 11.

Enjoy the game. Enjoy the ads. Try to enjoy Madonna. Go Pats.

Posted by Fred Conover | Share: Twitter, Facebook, Del.icio.us, LinkedIn

Creative and Cost Efficient Media Buying

February 1st, 2012

Someone recently asked me if the Super Bowl is the Oscars of the Advertising world. In a way, it is – sans the golden trophies. Right now the Internet is buzzing with reports of who made a Super Bowl buy and at what jaw-dropping price. Soon we’ll get to dissect it all, much the way Joan Rivers talks about the red carpet’s best- and worst-dressed list.

Best Buy, Audi, Career Builder and Dannon Yogurt are among the 2012 advertisers that have spent an average of $3.5 million – as well as staggering production costs – for 30 seconds of Super Bowl glory.

But what’s a media gal like me (and most of us, really) to do when there aren’t a few million dollars lying around the shop?

Plenty. Here are my principles for creatively planning and buying media without breaking the bank:

1. Set sights on success, wherever that may be.
Don’t focus on what you can’t buy because it’s too expensive. Get more creative and buy in places that “the other guys” forgot about. Can’t buy the premium TV spot? Try video pre-roll on sites that will replay the content.

2. Play nice, aggressively
Be transparent with vendors instead of playing hardball. Set up some good ol’ face time with your sales rep and brainstorm a game plan for your budget. Perhaps you can substitute top inventory for more frequency and a great added-value campaign. Vendors are willing to work with any budget and want to customize the perfect plan for the client. Transparency may yield more than you thought you could bargain for.

3. Act now
Stay on your toes and take advantage of last-minute or introductory deals. Buying the right “hot sale” ad space is as gratifying as an overtime interception. When someone drops out of the back cover glossy space on the day creative is due, seize it. As such, work with your client to have an opportunistic fund for this very situation.

4. Work as a team
You never know when a cool creative execution will spark an idea. (Think rich media or print ads cleverly integrated into editorial.) One of my favorite things here at CTP is working with a relentlessly creative design team. Helps keep us from falling into the habit of buying the same media.

All of us aren’t in the market for that first Super Bowl ad pod, but plenty of opportunities exist for any budget – if you’re on your game. While we’re all cheering on the Pats this weekend, devouring the ads in between, you’ll find me on the sidelines, plotting a client’s next big media plan, CTP style – innovative and, most importantly, on budget.

Posted by Katelyn Peckham | Share: Twitter, Facebook, Del.icio.us, LinkedIn

How Twitter Has Changed Fan Interaction

January 30th, 2012

Slowly dying are the days of fans writing to their favorite athletes, then checking the mailbox for an autographed photo, ball or letter in return. Instead, Twitter, Facebook and myriad other social networks are giving fans the ability to connect instantly with sports teams and athletes. And now fans are getting responses that no one expected.

Two New England Patriots players recently showed the power of connecting via Twitter when they surprised fans with tickets to playoff games.

Chad Ochocinco, one of the most vocal athletes on Twitter, provided round-trip flight, hotel and tickets to the Patriots game against the Broncos to a Florida fan who had been tweeting at him for two years. The following week, Wes Welker surprised a fan who tweeted a shirtless, painted photo of himself at the game, which was played in single-digit temperatures. Welker was so impressed, he offered him tickets to the AFC Championship game.

The goodwill the athletes and, by proxy, their team got from each giveaway is hard to measure, but the sports industry is definitely taking notice. With the popularity of MLB’s Fan Cave and the New Jersey Devils’ Mission Control last year, teams and players are interacting with fans like never before, and Twitter is playing a huge role. According to @Pro_Athletes, there are more than 4,800 athletes on Twitter from all the major sports organizations. Athletes are using Twitter not only to interact with fans, but to support their sponsorship endorsements and comment on their sports. The recent NFL and NBA lockouts were great examples of how athletes influenced public opinion through their tweets.

Sports marketers spend hours every season dreaming up promotions that will help connect fans with their teams. The power of personable players tweeting back at their fans can be priceless. Although a recent Men’s Journal article suggested that the King of Twitter, Shaquille O’Neal, could make upwards of $5 million through sponsorship deals based on his 4.3 million followers, a monetary value of players’ non-sponsored tweets is still a ways off. But according to a study published in the International Journal of Sport Communication 17% of athletes’ tweets are responding to fans, the highest of all the content they share, and proof that athletes see the value of this interaction. You can be sure that teams are pondering how to leverage the popularity of their players’ interactions on social media, and that dynamic will factor into the ongoing relationships between teams and athletes.

So what’s next? Will fans constantly tweet at their sports heroes, hoping they’ll receive tickets? Probably. Even if they don’t, the one-on-one interaction fans get from Twitter is invaluable. It brings the excitement of talking to a player to their fingertips. And as long as athletes think before they tweet, Twitter will remain a great way to build their personal brands, enhance their teams’ images and transform the fan-athlete dynamic in ways we can only imagine.

Posted by Courtney Megliola | Share: Twitter, Facebook, Del.icio.us, LinkedIn

Tagged: PR, social media, sports marketing, Twitter

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.

January 27th, 2012

Who doesn’t like positive press? It’s generally good for business. Strokes the ego. Makes your employees feel good. Heck, you could even argue that even some bad press can be good for at least some of the above reasons.

But positive media coverage isn’t always good for business. Yes, you read that right. Good press. Bad thing.

It’s a lesson I’m reminded of as the Consumer Electronics Show fades into the rearview mirror and companies continue working toward the next product stage. A few years ago, I attended CES with a small startup to help preview a new product. Scheduled for launch later that month, it was unique, cutting-edge and had the chance to establish a standard. That’s what the media told everyone, and there was a lot of media. The client was thrilled. We were thrilled.

There was a small problem. The launch timetable we promoted wasn’t realistic. The product wasn’t ready that month. Or the next month. Or six months later. When it finally launched that fall, the effect was the polar opposite of that thrilling preview. The reasons were many, but it’s hard not to revisit CES as crossing a significant threshold. We set expectations. We established momentum.

It’s an important consideration for anyone seeking to leverage the power of public relations, whether that’s just a small story in a community newspaper, or attempts to seize attention at the largest trade show in the U.S. When you press go on a media relations program, when you actively solicit them to write, view, promote, recommend a product or service, you must be prepared for the potential ramifications. Understand that the story doesn’t end with, well, a good story. It’s just the beginning.

Can you handle the time and the demands? Can you leverage it effectively? Can you deliver on the messages you discuss? Or is the timing just not right? Be honest in the assessment, because it will have an impact on sales, marketing, operations and every piece of the business. And once you’ve peeled back the curtain, there’s no turning back.

Media coverage is a powerful thing, for any business. Done right, it can help to transform a product or a company. But you only have one chance to capture their imagination. Make sure to use it wisely.