What is the purpose of a Super Bowl ad? This Sunday, advertisers will dole out $4.5 million per 30 seconds of air time, but is there any guarantee that their money will actually make a difference? Super Bowl commercials have long been the most highly-anticipated of the year, even more so today with the exponential growth of recorded and streaming television (for those viewers, these could be the only commercials of the year). But the question remains: do Super Bowl ads work? Will a single ad lead to a sale? Is that even its purpose?
Last year, Communicus, an advertising research firm, conducted a survey on the effectiveness of Super Bowl advertising. Participants were polled immediately before and after the game to determine which ads they found to be most memorable and most influential on their willingness to purchase from those brands in the future. The chart below, as posted in this recent Ad Age article, gets a little closer to discovering the true purpose of these multimillion dollar commercials.
Source: Communicus
Ask anyone which Super Bowl XLVIII ad they still remember a year later and I guarantee most answers will involve a puppy, the very same one that will be returning to the main stage this Sunday. According to the chart, however, Budweiser’s blockbuster spot didn’t even break the top 5, receiving a ‘Below Average’ score for persuasiveness. Which brings us back to the question: was making a sale Budweiser’s intention?
The answer is no. And it should be for virtually every brand advertising in the Super Bowl. The brands that forget it – like last year’s car companies, most of which have pulled out this time around – suffer the consequences. When it comes to the Big Game, brand recognition is king, and it’s the brand’s other efforts online and in social media that help the overall sales message to succeed. It’s the same 360° approach we recommend to our clients – one touch point just won’t cut it. But when $4.5 million leaves your bank account without a flinch, you likely have other strategies up your sleeve.
So what will work this year? The spots that push their brands to the forefront and put sales on the back burner will come out on top. New players in the ring, up against veteran brands riding on last year’s success, could have a chance to wow the audience. Overall, the social media ties will be stronger, and the hype of the ads will last far beyond the fourth quarter, if brands play their cards right.
Which ads are you most excited to see? Watch me preview this year’s ads on WTNH’s Good Morning Connecticut tomorrow morning at 5:20 and 6:20. (If that’s on the early side, sign up for our newsletter to receive a recap on Friday).
And during the game, visit WTNH.com to vote for your favorite ads in real time. We’ll break down the results on WTNH Monday morning. Can’t wait until Sunday? Here’s a sneak peek at some of the ads currently available.