Superbowl 53 was an all around “ehh” event. The lowest scoring game in Superbowl history finished with Tom Brady giving an exclusive interview to CBS with a very mellow vibe. Sort of like, “I’ve done this before and I’m kinda tired, so I’ll see you again next year”.
When you have a boring game like Superbowl 53 the audience looks to the commercials to entertain them instead. With this unfortunate pairing, I think the Superbowl ads have gotten a bad rap. With that being said, I also think that the majority of the ads were lacking the “x-factor” that we’ve seen in previous Superbowl's.
2019’s Trend: Overuse of Celebs and Technology is Scary
Superbowl ads have traditionally been an opportunity for brands to unveil a new product/service in a memorable way, so when we’re hungover on Monday we remember to buy that new “thing”.
2019’s ads missed the mark on the memorable part. A cheap way to be “memorable” is to do what Pepsi did.
Steve Carell, America’s Sweetheart, is front and center in this ad to talk about how Pepsi is more than “okay” (Up until this point, I’m all good with this ad). Then out of no where Lil Jon and Cardi B make an appearance. When you run a :60 spot you run the risk of losing your audience’s attention. Pepsi had me but then lost me when the other celebrities jumped in. (I still love Lil Jon and Cardi though)
Another trend was that technology is everywhere and artificial intelligence is spooky. Take a look at these ads and tell me what your immediate reaction is.
I mean you can’t possibly say, “Wow I’m gonna go sign up for TurboTax and switch to Sprint after watching those”. Brands like these are trying to make an impact without being risky or provocative. Brands chose to go all-in on celebrities and play it safe and in 2019 this is the smart business decision. Brands know that the audience may not react how they did in years past, so humor and celebrities take center-stage.
The memorable ads didn’t include celebrities, they told stories.
Yes, these ads take a more serious approach but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be remembered.
What are your thoughts on this years Superbowl Ads?
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