Although the Super Bowl was over a month ago, I thought it was a good idea to remind you all about how great some of the commercials and their corresponding campaigns were this year.
Budweiser reliably delivered “Best Buds,” a touching commercial about a lost puppy and his best friend, the famed Clydesdale Horse. Over the years, Budweiser has established itself as a seasoned brand in the Super Bowl; it certainly didn’t disappoint this year. Perhaps more notable than the commercial is how Budweiser expertly launched a simple but effective social media campaign the week leading up to the Super Bowl. Its campaign called “Lost Dog, Free Ticket” had people in a retweeting frenzy trying to find the cute, lost puppy in return for coveted Super Bowl tickets. This was a smart way for Budweiser to stir up conversation on social media before its commercial launch.
Doritos, another annual fan favorite, kicked off the Super Bowl with a humorous and entertaining fan-made commercial. Since 2006, Doritos has sponsored a contest called “Crash the Super Bowl” to give its fans the creative responsibility of creating its Super Bowl ad. Doritos generously rewards fans for their creative talent by giving away tickets to the Super Bowl, job opportunities with famous directors, and outrageous cash prizes. This year, “Middle Seat,” garnered the most votes and secured the grand prize. Doritos also aired company-favorite and contest runner-up, “When Pigs Fly,” on game day. Throughout the contest, Doritos engaged with fans by encouraging them to use the Face-O-Rater on its website. This application uses your computer’s webcam and microphone and predicts your ratings based on your reactions to the commercials. On game day, Doritos asked its fans to tweet a 6-15 second parody of any “Crash the Super Bowl” finalists’ commercials for a chance to win $5,000. Doritos certainly understands the importance of coupling several campaigns with its television advertisement launch to ensure that people are excited and talking about the brand on social media.
This year, there was an overwhelming number of commercials that focused on empowerment. Always, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, and McDonald’s are some notable companies that followed this trend. Not only did their commercials make people feel good, but they had people talking, especially with unique hashtags like “#LikeAGirl,” “#empowering,” “#MakeItHappy,” and “#PaywithLovin.” Instead of simply reminding people of their products, industry giants are turning to tactics that link their brand with a positive message. While Always and Microsoft utilized the Super Bowl as a platform to extend the reach of existing campaigns, Coca-Cola and Microsoft used it to launch new campaigns. Coca-Cola’s recent campaign encourages people to make the internet a more positive and uplifting place. Similarly, McDonald’s introduced “Pay with Lovin’” to generate warm and fuzzy feelings approaching Valentine’s Day.
“Dads” was another common theme during this year’s Super Bowl. Toyota, Nissan, and Dove are just some of the companies that came up with moving commercials that spoke to fathers and families watching the Super Bowl. This emphasis on dads could be due to recent studies that found that “9 out of 10 men today see their caring side as a sign of strength.” These three companies also launched accompanying campaigns to pay homage to fathers. Each introduced unique hashtags to track conversations. They used “#OneBoldChoice,” “WithDad,” and “#RealStrength” respectively. These three campaigns called people to share stories and photos about their dads using the hashtags. These three brands jumped on the modern man bandwagon and focused on how the modern man is caring and family-oriented.
While the Super Bowl may be last month’s news, the commercials and campaigns that came out of it are impressionable and have people talking long after the game.
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