Is it worth spending $5 million for a 30-second spot during the Super Bowl? That was the reported cost for the 2016 showpiece. Does this gain any return for the big spenders or is it simple marketing vanity?
I’m generally rubbish at most sports, I love to have a go, but I learnt at a very early age that professional sport was not to be my calling in life. In fact, whilst sitting here writing this I recall one of the teaching assistants in my final year of primary school she was asking what everyone wanted to be when they grow up, my response was a football (soccer) commentator, not the superstar on the field but someone who watches and enjoys what the beautiful game brings and presents it to others. Nevertheless, I still wanted the merchandise for my team and was still excited by any product tie in with football, from Esso World Cup coins to Gary Lineker’s Quasar boots.
As with the majority of boys of my generation growing up in south London football in the late 1980’s was a huge part of our world. I could recite stats about Arsenal ad nauseum, I collected Panini stickers and can still vividly remember certain players faces from my first full album in 1989, all before photoshoots were perfectly choreographed (notably Davie Dodds and his massive face).
It was around the time of coverage moving to Sky and the gloss of the Premier League that my love of the game started to dwindle. Perhaps it was age, puberty and nostalgia for what I grew up with but I wasn’t quite as absorbed. Sport was still there, I still got excited about the World Cups, Olympic Games and those big sporting occasions that crop up every now and again.
It wasn’t until I was travelling around America in my early 20’s when I had the opportunity to catch some NFL action. I was in New Orleans and the Saints, who were then known for being consistently ‘garbage’ were entertaining the Detroit Lions. A couple of hours later and I was hooked. I’d had my first taste of the NFL around the time of my love of football kicked in when the razzmatazz of gridiron rolled into the UK with the likes of Joe Montana, William ‘The Fridge’ Perry and Dan Marino leading the charge, not forgetting our brief flirtation with the London Monarchs and the World Bowl. This trip to New Orleans was different though, it was an insight into how sport on the other side of the world operates, the importance of the teams to their communities, the game day build-up, the spectacle of the occasion, the passion of the fans at a pre-match tailgate party in a sport where it’s rare to see opposition fans in significant attendance. Merchandise and sponsorship opportunities everywhere and a bruising chess-like battle unfolding in front of thousands of spectators.
The advent of the International series at Wembley and the annual pilgrimage down to English footballs hallowed ground developed my love and interest in the NFL further. Interest and coverage increased in the UK and we had more access than ever to the sport. The draft, opening weekend and Thanksgiving game became familiar but all nothing in comparison to the might of the ‘the greatest game on earth, the Superbowl.
There will be lovers and haters of the hard-hitting game, but whatever you think you will’ve heard of the Super Bowl. The fixture is, along with the UEFA Champions League final, the most-watched annual sporting event on TV and for those agencies with cash to burn for their clients, an intriguing proposition.
No other fixture in the world has such annual media coverage around not just the event, but the ad breaks. Creating a memorable ad here ensures huge amounts of talk-ability for a brand. But at what cost?
In TV terms $5million for 30 seconds is a hell of an ask, only the big boys can play this game with banking, alcohol, snacks and soft drinks being regular spot fillers with bespoke ads for the occasion.
A triumphant Super Bowl ad can ensure that recall for your product is high for a long time, but only if you’re one of the best. Ad agencies must love and hate pulling these campaigns together as so much is riding on them.
There are some memorable commercials
Cindy Crawford Drinks a Pepsi:
The Budweiser frogs:
And Apple’s vision of 1984:
Is it worth it when with a simple piece of well-timed creative you can highjack conversations like Oreo were able to following the reactive tweet around the 2013 power cut during the game? The graphic released during the blackout was “designed, captioned and approved within minutes,” the ability to jump on to an opportunity like this would not be guaranteed, but it does show the power of social media for instant response vs. traditional advertising avenues.
So what’s best? The simple answer is that if you have budgets big enough to justify the space then take it. The guaranteed audience will allow a for a brand to strategically work on their messaging well in advance to ensure that ads are memorable but relevant to their product. Reacting to a moment in time is risky as usually there is only room for one strong viral piece for any story – e.g. Madonna’s Brits fall coupled with ‘No Capes’ from The Incredibles.
The Super Bowl figures are eye-watering when you’re used to working on small national or smaller regional budgets, but in the world of the big brands, it hurts more not to be seen.
Whatever your opinion the new NFL season starts soon with the hopes of fans from 32 teams reset to zero ahead of kick-off. We can expect some crunching action on the field, a bombardment of sponsorship and merchandising off it and some spectacular ads come 5 February 2017 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas
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