Even if you live outside the US, you are well aware that this Sunday is the Super Bowl. With all due respect to Saints and Colts fans, I couldn’t even remember who was playing (I know, very sad), so I had to look it up on the NFL’s website. But before you tsk tsk me, please understand that football has never been a big–or small– part of my life. My dad is from Hungary and couldn’t care less about American sports. My mom is not a football fan, so, when I was growing up, I only watched football once a year when my uncle would come for a brief visit. In fact, I didn’t watch the Super Bowl until my younger brother was old enough to ask to watch it (I think I was in 7th or 8th grade). All I remember from that first Super Bowl viewing is that the Denver Broncos won.
Like many people, I watch the Super Bowl for the ads. In fact, that’s all I watch. During the actual football, I talk, play with my kids, read, pour more wine, or grab more food. Perhaps it’s because I’m in marketing, but I really enjoy watching the creativity and out-of-the-box thinking that results from huge ad budgets and the pressure to not only make a big impression, but also come out on top as the most talked about ad the next day.
There’s a new twist to the whole Super Bowl ad frenzy, and it comes in the form of Facebook. Thanks to clever marketing folks at Budweiser, Facebook is playing a major part of their Super Bowl ad campaign. Budweiser has asked their Facebook fans to vote for 1 of 3 ads that will air during the Super Bowl. So, first you become a fan, then you vote. Then you can post your vote to your wall where your friends can see it. Now they can comment on it and cast their own votes (once they also become fans, of course). If you remain a Bud fan, you’ll be dinged with all sorts of promotions and information from them. Pretty clever, especially since their ads are usually great. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that, no matter how small the role may be?
Pepsi is usually a big Super Bowl advertiser, but this year, they’re just focusing on social media. They have a Facebook page and a Twitter account, of course, but they’re also on YouTube with their Refresh Studio, billed as “the ultimate music collaboration between will.i.am and LMFAO”, and they’re sponsoring the Super Bowl Fan Jam, a concert featuring Rihanna, on February 4 on VH1. They do have a really cool commercial, though it’s only on their website. “Bob’s House” was created by people within the company’s EnAble division, which employs people of all abilities. This particular commercial features deaf actors, and it’s really quite funny. Check out www.pepsi.com to watch “Bob’s House”. While you’re there, look around their website a bit, which is both very slick and easy to navigate.
Once again, Doritos, has asked amateurs to create Super Bowl ads for them. They solicited votes for the top ads, and there are six finalists, which are listed at www.crashthesuperbowl.com. It looks like they are no longer taking votes, but there are four days to go before the Super Bowl as I write this, so I can kinda understand their logic. Their website is worth looking up. It’s set up like a video game, so it’s got an interactive element that is interesting and very different from anything I’ve seen: www.doritos.com.
Any other interesting Super Bowl-related ad campaigns out there? I’d love to hear about them!
