By: Renay Daigle
The Super Bowl is not just the biggest stage in sports; it’s also the biggest night of the year for advertisers. With upwards of 120 million viewers tuning in, brands have an unparalleled opportunity to make a lasting impact. But with that opportunity comes a hefty price tag, with some advertisers paying a record-breaking $8 million for a 30-second spot this year. So, what advertising trends did we see in Super Bowl 59, and what makes a great Super Bowl commercial?
This year’s Super Bowl ads reflected a few notable shifts in the advertising landscape. AI-driven products and tools had a strong presence in this year’s ad lineup, while the movie, mobile phone and auto industries showed significant reductions. Meanwhile, the snack and food category had the strongest showing. Humor remained a go-to tactic, and as always, celebrity endorsements were everywhere.
Any great commercial – especially one that justifies Super Bowl-level investment – must put strategy first. At Daigle Creative, we believe there are three key factors that define advertising success. They should be geared toward the target audience, clearly communicate the product or service’s unique benefit and tell a memorable story that resonates. Simply put, the best Super Bowl commercials need to do more than just entertain with humor, nostalgia, emotion or pure spectacle, their strategy should ultimately move their prospective customers to action.
Two of this year’s stand-out commercials were Instacart’s 30-second “We’re Here” commercial and Novartis’s “Your Attention Please” 60-second commercial.
Instacart didn’t have the budget for celebrities yet had something unique that also reinforced why people would want to use their service – a wealth of identifiable brands they could deliver. The result was an entertaining commercial that showcased iconic mascots including the Jolly Green Giant, the Pillsbury Dough Boy and even the Old Spice guy, all making their way to an Instacart customer’s front door to the tune of Trick Daddy’s “Take it to Da House.” Instacart paired this innovative concept with pregame customer giveaways and a cross-brand social strategy that extended its reach onto the various brands’ platforms.
Meanwhile, pharmaceutical company, Novartis, used close-ups of breasts in a wide variety of settings, paired with bouncy song, to capture the attention of both men and women. The simple line “so much attention, yet so ignored,” about three-quarters through brought the commercial to its end, which had breast cancer survivor Wanda Sykes encouraging women to take steps toward early breast cancer detection, by visiting YourAttentionPlease.com. It was not only a unique and memorable spot, but an informed buy. The Novartis CMO said that the company “had been experimenting with its media mix in live sports over the last year, noticing that the events had a significant impact on viewers visiting websites and seeking information.”
For both advertisers, the proof will ultimately lie in the results. Will Instacart sign more customers for its service? Did Novartis see a surge to its website after the Super Bowl on which they can continue to build? That will likely be up to one of the other tenants of advertising that the team at Daigle Creative holds dear – the frequency and longevity of the media buys that support great creative.