Super Bowl XLVI is all over bar the shouting and as usual, it came with as much bluster and swagger as the last one, if not more.
Though I generally resent the hyperinflated opinion which American sports has of itself, we can always learn from the way brands behave within this context.
I was particularly enlightened by an article written by Pepsi's VP of Digital Marketing Shiv Singh who identified 3 levels at which Pepsi approaches its activation of the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl, he says, is a "multi-dimensional, multi-platform, month-long engagement opportunity for fans with a complexity that is unmatched".
Hence, the brand team sought a presence at three important levels: Game level, Game Level "plus 1" and at the broader Super Bowl experiential (entertainment) level.
I find this a very useful model not just to analyse brand activity at the Super Bowl but as a possible model for framing and planning how we leverage our own properties.
Here are a few examples of how the above applied in the context of Super Bowl 46.
Level 1 - the Game
This is the Super Bowl of old - the elegant minimalism of flighting a 30' TVC somewhere within the Super Bowl - and paying circa $3.5m for the privilege. This is the world which led to such magnifcence as Apple's "1984", Budweiser's "Whassup?" and Coke's "Mean Joe Green" adverts. Painfully few brands adhere to this approach anymore - in fact, it would seem that Groupon was the last to do so in 2011 at Super Bowl 45. I long for these days because they forced advertisers to get it right first time. It was the ultimate "hail mary pass". Nowadays, advertisers can settle for a less than perfect ad - and use social media as a crutch to prop up the eyeballs both ahead of the game and in its aftermath. It feels like a bit of a cop-out to me.
Another tactic at this level is to contend for top spot in as many of the Super Bowl Ad Meters as possible - (and there are many). Of course, many of these come down to popular vote so not surprisingly, the Doritos crowd-sourced ad "flying baby" came up trumps...a great example of sponsored entertainment if ever there was one.
Interestingly, the most robust take on Super Bowl ad effectiveness comes from the Kellogg School of Management who judged that M&Ms ad was "attention getting, well branded and memorable". I agree. The Kellogg Super Bowl report is always worth a read so make sure you click the hyperlink. Here's the M&Ms ad
By the way, if you want to see ALL the ads, click here
Level 2 - Game "plus 1"
This level operates in the knowledge - rightly so - that the conversation about the Super Bowl (and particularly its advertisements) begins weeks in advance of the big showdown and probably only ends a week or so after the trophy has been lifted. Tactics which take place at this level include:
- Using digital channels to seed an ad - or more likely some teaser for it - at least a week in advance of the game. This year, 20+ ads were seeded in this way. One example was Volkswagen who seeded an ad called "The Bark Side" as a precursor to a pretty lame but oh-so-cute ad on game-day. Here it is:
And here is the matchday version which stuck with the theme of dogs but whose final seconds bore a really disjointed and cryptic allusion to last year's Darth Vader ad. In my view, it's all horribly too-clever-by-half.
- A second tactic sees the advertiser developing a culturally significant tone which, because of current affairs/events, stretches way beyond the event itself and ignites conversation which outlasts it. Chrysler has been doing this for two years now, probably as a means of kissing Obama's backside for bailing the company out when recession hit. This year their 2 minute spectacular ad featured Clint Eastwood and was tonally more or less the same as last year's one featuring Eminem. Both ads make a pretty big stand for Detroit but, at least in my view, go no way towards building any of the Chrysler sub-brands
- Another tactic has been to use the Super Bowl as a means for a massive promotional drive e.g. to win tickets to the big game or to have privilged access to its various sideshows. A good example of this was Visa's Super Bowl sweepstakes
Level 3 - The entertainment Level
This level is seldom exclusive from the other two levels. In fact it is best that all three are integrated into one mothership of activity. Pepsi itself, even though I despise the brand's schmaltzy approach to advertising, best exemplifies this approach.
At Game level, the brand ran an ad featuring X-Factor winner Melanie Armano and Sir Elton John.
At "game plus 1 level" - consumers could not only watch the ad on YouTube (including "making of" permutations) but they could also download the soundtrack from digital music platform Shazam.
At level 3, the entertainment level, consumers in the United States could gain access to the world's first social TV channel owned by Pepsi called Pepsi Sound-Off. Here, whilst literally watching the game on television, consumers could immerse in a rich "second screen" experience which featured celebrity hosts and a variety of dynamic content. Not only this, Pepsi also partnered with personalised internet radio service Pandora in order to provide a branded soundtrack for those hosting Super Bowl parties in their homes.
Application
As I said in the opening paragraph, I really like this 3 level approach as a framework for thinking and believe we need to seriously interrogate its application for our major sponsorship properties.
Related Articles: The Super Bowl has morphed into an entire season for advertising
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