Super Bowl spots lean to light
MORE THAN US$5 MILLION FOR A 30-SECOND MESSAGE
Sarah Michelle Gellar makes a horror movie parody for Olay. Jeff Bridges and Sarah Jessica Parker tout Stella Artois. Steve Carell hawks Pepsi.
Star power abounds in this year’s Super Bowl ads.
Advertisers are hoping to provide some welcome distraction and entertainment as economic fears persist and the nation’s political climate remains sharply divided. As much as this year’s Super Bowl will be a battle on the field between the New England Patriots and the L.A. Rams, it will be a battle between advertisers over who gets the buzz — and who gets forgotten.
Celebrities are a relatively safe bet to garner goodwill from Super Bowl viewers who aren’t looking to be lectured at. There has been a retreat from more overtly political ads that were seen during the 2017 Super Bowl from such companies as 84 Lumber and Airbnb .
“The big theme is a return to lighthearted humour,” University of Virginia professor Kim Whitler said. “There’s an acknowledgment the Super Bowl is about entertainment.”
The Super Bowl remains advertising’s biggest massmarket showcase — and one of the last remaining ones in an age of personalized ads targeted to individual interests based on data collected by Facebook, Google and other tech mammoths. Digital ads are expected to make up nearly 60 per cent of ad spending by 2020, according to eMarketer, up from about 50 per cent in 2018.
The price of a 30-second ad in the game has sped past eye-popping. Broadcaster CBS has sought between US$5.1 million and US$5.3 million for a package that includes a 30-second spot and some digital inventory, according to people familiar with negotiations. Those figures represent an approximate 96-per-cent hike over the average cost of US$2.7 million for an ad in the 2008 broadcast, according to Kantar Media, a tracker of ad spending.
More than 100 million people in the U.S. are expected to tune in to Sunday’s game on CBS. Simplisafe’s creative director, Wade Devers, said the home-security company is advertising during the Super Bowl for the first time because the game has “a unique audience” primed to be interested in watching the ads.
Advertisers are doing what they can to stand out — Bridges, for instance, revives his The Dude character from The Big Lebowski — while shying away from controversy.
“It’s such a big investment. Advertisers really want to generate as much return as they can,” Northwestern University marketing professor Tim Calkins said. “I think we’ll see a lot of humour and product-focused advertising. A lot of advertisers are nervous about taking on big themes.”
So don’t expect any mention of the government shutdown or the debate over building a wall at the Mexican border, for example.
But safe can also mean dull. “It will be a lacklustre year,” said Kelly O’Keefe, a professor at Virginia Commonwealth’s Brandcenter. “I hope to see a few standouts, but the ads could be more mediocre than they have in a few years.”
A few old favourites are returning. Anheuser-Busch is trotting out its famed Clydesdales.
They pull a Dalmatian dog through a field populated with windmills to the tune of Bob Dylan’s Blowin’ in the Wind to promote the idea that Budweiser is brewed with energy from wind power.
As for celebrities, always a staple in Super Bowl ads, Jason Bateman appears as an affable elevator operator to showcase Hyundai’s Shopper Assurance program. M&M’s enlisted actress Christina Applegate, and Avocados From Mexico’s ad will feature Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth. Colgate Total’s ad features Luke Wilson as a close talker.
Olay will play off horror movies and the phrase Killer Skin, with an ad starring Gellar. Toyota is highlighting the persistence of Antoinette “Toni” Harris, a female football player at a California community college.
Michelob Ultra has a robot beating humans at different sports like running and spinning. But then the robot looks longingly in a bar where people are enjoying a post-workout beer. “It’s only worth it if you can enjoy it,” an onscreen message reads.
In an ad for Pringles, a smart speaker laments not being able to taste Pringles.
Amazon pokes fun of itself as celebrities from Harrison Ford to astronaut twins Mark and Steve Kelly test products that didn’t quite work out, including an electric toothbrush and a dog collar with Amazon’s Alexa digital assistant.
The Super Bowl reportedly had trouble finding artists to sing during the halftime show — singer Travis Scott agreed to perform only after the NFL said it would donate US$500,000 to charity. But there has been no hesitation with musicians jumping into Super Bowl ads.
First time-Super Bowl advertiser Expensify created a catchy music video with rapper 2 Chainz and actor Adam Scott. The 30-second ad also features the song.
Pepsi has long enlisted musicians to help sell its drinks and snacks. For its Doritos brand, Chance the Rapper is teaming up with the Backstreet Boys to promote a new flavour. Michael Buble will star in an ad for Pepsi’s Bubly sparkling water. And an ad for Pepsi itself has Carell with rapper Lil Jon and pop singer Cardi B.
Mercedes-Benz, meanwhile, has Ludacris.
Although many companies released their ads online early, Villanova marketing professor Charles Taylor says some are holding back “for the potential to make a bigger splash.”