Super Bowl XLIX is over, the players have all returned home and we’ve managed to watch all of the ads enough times on YouTube that we know the punchlines by heart. As the Super Bowl buzz fades away and most of America begins to lose interest, we’re taking one last look at this year’s Super Bowl commercials to offer some advice for those companies planning to invest the big bucks in Super Bowl 50. (After all, given the fact that it’s a very special golden anniversary game, we can expect CBS will demand even more than the obscene $4.5 million that NBC demanded this year.)
Five Tips For Success: How To Create A Winning Super Bowl Ad
1. Rely on Star Power
In this year’s Super Bowl, the star power was impressive. From movie stars to football players, everyone was featured, even Kim Kardashian! First time Super Bowl advertiser Wix.com chose to feature 5(!) NFL legends in their ad, presenting each as the owner of a new small business.
We loved that Wix kept football in their ad and their smart, elaborate social media campaign showed that some serious thought went into dreaming up each of these businesses. Each new endeavor is a perfect match for its celebrity owner, even if it has nothing to do with football!
Another favorite spot that owed its success to a celebrity star was the hilarious Clash of Clans ad with Liam Neeson.
2. Feature a Puppy
It’s definitely not a new gimmick in the world of advertising, but featuring a puppy in a commercial is always a winner. The guys at Budweiser seem to know that. For the third year in a row, the official NFL brewer made us tear up with their “Lost Dog” commercial.
This year, their Super Bowl ad featured the iconic Clydesdales rescuing a lost puppy from the clutches of a hungry wolf. Even though it was predictable, the cheesy commercial won the USA Today Ad Meter Super Bowl Ad, ranking #1 with an average vote of 8.1. Last year, Budweiser also won with their Puppy Love commercial with an average score of 8.29.
GoDaddy also had a shot at it…and failed miserably. The company released their commercial featuring a cute puppy named “Buddy” ahead of thus year’s Super Bowl. But the response wasn’t what they had predicted. The spot sparked controversy among animal rights activists and the company eventually rescineded the commercial. Apparently, GoDaddy didn’t quite foresee that featuring a cute puppy only to “ship him out” in the end isn’t exactly what the public likes to see.
3. Dads Are Trending
This year, dads were all the rage at the Super Bowl, but instead of being portrayed as macho or tough, ads this year highlighted the softer side of fatherhood. Dove Men+Care ran a successful campaign called “Real Strength” that must have inspired both Toyota and Nissan, whose campaigns also featured emotionally invested fathers.
The Toyota Camry commercial “My Bold Dad” featured a dad who takes care of his daughter and is always there for her - standing up to a bully, picking her up from a party, joining her for a dance and eventually dropping her off at the airport for her military deployment.
The punch line? “Being a dad is a choice. One that will make a wonderful human being who will make their own choices someday.”
Nissan also managed to make us tear up with its “With Dad” commercial. Here the father is a Nissan racecar driver who in spite of his frequent absence is always there for his family through good and bad times throughout the years and is an example for his son who wants to “be just like you dad” as the song in the background plays.
4. Show A Little (Or A Lot Of) Skin
Commercials featuring sexy, (un)dressed, beautiful girls are pretty much guaranteed to pick up a lot of views, even if they get banned from the Big Game itself. Unfortunately for fans of the sexier ads, this year’s commercials revealed very little skin. Whole most advertisers played it safe, Victoria’s Secret‘s commercial did feature scantily clad angels and The Game of War ad with the sensual Kate Upton (and her bare breasts) did no go unnoticed. If you missed them, check them out below!
The guys at Carl’s Jr were not as prudent, and their commercial was banned from the Super Bowl, days before the Big Game. No biggy. The racy commercial featuring Charlotte McKinney made quite some buzz (and almost 10 million views) on the net. The ad’ll make you hungry for pretty much everything.
5. Don’t Depress Us
This should go without saying, but if there is anything that can be learned from this year’s ads, it’s that America does not want to be depressed while watching the Super Bowl. Apparently, some advertisers got confused and thought that playing to our heart strings meant making us feel suicidal. So on behalf of all America, we kindly request that, in honor of Super Bowl 50, companies keep the commercials light, fun and inspiring. And free of dead children. (Yes, we’re talking to you Nationwide.)
