Local companies make their pitches
Baltimore Equitable Insurance, M&T Bank will have Super Bowl ads
Super Bowl ad watchers will find at least two businesses with a Baltimore presence among the national commercials for beer, cars and snack food.
Both M&T Bank and Baltimore Equitable Insurance — the city’s oldest company — will launch campaigns during Sunday’s game between the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams.
The Buffalo, N.Y.-based bank, which has its name on the Baltimore Ravens’ stadium, will unveil the latest chapter in the “Understanding What’s Important” campaign it has run since 2015, featuring stories of its business customers.
The 30-second spot features Vision Technologies, a Baltimore-based technology company that says it has grown from five people to 500 with the help of its lender.
It will air regionally, in Baltimore, Buffalo and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, part of M&T’s at least five-year run of showing ads during the big game.
“The Super Bowl provides an opportunity to launch our new campaign with a little bit of a bang and have a lot of people see it and have attention on these stories that we’re very proud of,” said Betsey Locke, an M&T senior vice president and director of brand and advertising. “It’s still an opportunity when people are watching live television.”
Baltimore Equitable will air its first-ever ad on TV during the game to mark a major February milestone — the homeowner insurance company’s 225th anniversary. The Baltimore firm is the second oldest insurance company in the U.S.
“Yes, it’s hard to believe that we have been around since 1794, especially since most people have never even heard of us,” said Mary Harlee, CEO, president and treasurer, in an announcement. “We have always been located in downtown Baltimore and in our 225 years of existence have been in just four offices within a one-mile radius.”
The insurer’s ad will air locally during the game, on WJZ, then after the game on WJZ and WBAL TV as well as nationally on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC.
M&T’s Super Bowl ad is part of a campaign of eight commercials showcasing the lender’s customers. Five will focus on Baltimore businesses and a city school, to be shown throughout the year across seven states on television, in print and on social media.
Super Bowl viewers have come to expect to be entertained during breaks and are likely to stick around rather than avoid ads, said Hank Boyd, a clinical professor of marketing at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.
Humorous ads often work well, he said, but the best commercials tend to tell a story, inspire and get people talking, instead of lecturing about a product.
One of the best examples, he believes, was Coca-Cola’s 1979 "Mean" Joe Greene spot, depicting a scene between the iconic football player and a kid.
“Over the years, it’s something that sticks with you,” Boyd said.
M&T did not disclose the cost of its 30-second spot. National advertisers typically pay around $5 million for those 30 seconds during an event known as much for the ads as the on-field competition.