An Audi ad will show an aging astronaut getting reinvigorated by driving an Audi to the tune of David Bowie’s “Starman”.
Advertisement
Axe left previously juvenile ads behind with a spot that urged teens to “Find Your Magic” and celebrate uniqueness and diversity rather than the traditional tropes of masculinity.
The spots cost $5 million per 30 seconds just for airtime.
Instead of slapstick-focused ads or racy messages this year, advertisers are trying to break out with empowering and even heartfelt messages. SunTrust’s ad urged people to take a breath and feel better about their financial health.
“It’s on my list of the weirdest ad of the night, but it’s very catchy and people will be talking about it”, said Kelly O’Keefe, a marketing professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. “It’s an effort to tell a deeper story and further engage viewers”, Kantar Media chief research officer Jon Swallen said. “The storytelling is better than ever”.
With Carstairs directing the team at Mr Smith put together a number of ideas before that settled on the entry, one of just three finalists and two which were actually aired during the broadcast among dozens of ads by some of America’s biggest advertisers.
The Doritos ad, which featured a man crunching on chips while his wife gets an ultrasound, prompted 140,040 posts associated with the brand on Twitter in the first quarter, the most around any brand advertising during the game, according to Amobee Brand Intelligence, a marketing technology company.
There have been plenty of teasers leading up to the big game, and many ads have already been released. For its Genesis sedan, an ad with comic Kevin Hart following his daughter on a date highlighted the “car finder” tracking feature; the Elantra’s remote start was featured in a spot with campers chased by bears.
Super Bowl 50 ads conjured up all sorts of emotions to plug the usual assortment of new and old products and included dozens of creative celebrity endorsements.
However, this is a tricky bet, as companies that run ads during the game each year don’t get the same reaction as first-timers as investors are expecting those ads, so they have a lower impact on sentiment. Amazon, Chrysler and Taco Bell were also early-buzz holdouts. Steven Tyler will sing “Dream On” with a portrait of Steven Tyler – one made of Skittles. Later in the game, it was a bunch of lawyers from a competitor convincing Drake to change his “Hotline Bling” song to include clauses that would make his song more truthful regarding what their company was offering.
Advertisement
The NFL had one of its own ads, featuring several choirs of “Super Bowl Babies” … or children born nine months after a Super Bowl, because … well, you know. I can do that!
