The Super Bowl is one of the most-watched events of the year in the US every year. However, this sporting feast has long been about more than just the game itself. Many people sit down in front of the TV and tune in to the Super Bowl to enjoy the always anticipated 'half-time show', or are curious about the various commercials, which are often full of humour or celebrities. Research agency Ipsos analysed how the different commercials resonated with viewers in the US and the Czech Republic.
This year's Super Bowl 58 (LVIII) was exceptional in two ways. According to the US media, it was the most watched television broadcast in history, with 123.4 million people tuning in. The second distinction was that it was the first Super Bowl to meet its total electricity consumption purely from renewable sources.
A host of celebrities could be seen in the commercials aired during this year's Super Bowl, including Jennifer Aniston, Beyoncé, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and even American football legend Tom Brady. In addition to famous faces, several commercials also used popular songs or various references to TV characters. The cost of the 30-second spot was around $7 million, the same amount demanded by the TV station with exclusive rights to broadcast the game last year. However, this is the first time since 2021 that the price has not increased and set a new record.
According to Ipsos, the most effective ads are those that can balance a creative experience (something that is unique, surprising, entertaining and exciting) with empathy (providing viewers with some context that is familiar to them, either by confirming their understanding of the brand or reflecting some truth from their lives). It is very common for Super Bowl commercials to be considered the best of the best. However, when the average results of the "everyday" ads tested are compared to Super Bowl ads, it can be seen that while Super Bowl ads outperform in terms of creativity (by up to 30%), they lag behind in terms of empathy (by 2%).
So Ipsos looked at the effectiveness of individual Super Bowl ads again this year, and used several different data sources to provide a quick and accurate view. Ipsos Synthesio analyzed up to 2.2 million Super Bowl-related mentions on various social media platforms, a post-game survey of thousands of respondents was conducted via the Ipsos.Digital platform, and 150 respondents from the general U.S. population rated each ad using Creative Spark's tool for measuring ad effectiveness and potential. Nationally, the ads were evaluated through an internal survey of 25 advertising communications and brand experts.
Brand assets were correctly used by Pringles
A good example of how to use typical brand elements (brand assets) in advertising was shown by the brand Pringles, which cast Chris Pratt in the lead role. The plot of the spot was based on the mascot - a bearded Mr. P - who helped to prevent the brand from getting lost in the ad, and also helped to achieve a high brand connection. The ad achieved an average rating of 3.8 stars out of 5 in the internal Czech Ipsos evaluation.
Dunkin' and Mountain Dew used the power of TikTok
Today, Super Bowl campaigns are no longer just about the commercials that run during the game. If a company wants to generate buzz around its brand and reach a wider audience, it's important to start communicating before the final day itself. This year, the power of social media has been used very effectively, particularly by TikTok, the sparkling soft drink brand Mountain Dew and fast food chain Dunkin' Donuts.
Mountain Dew launched its campaign a few weeks before the Super Bowl, sharing various short videos on TikTok featuring a lime variant of its drink called Baja Blast. The phrase "having a blast" (translated as "having a great time") is also associated with the name, and the entire campaign was built around it, as well as the final spot. Thanks to the pun, Mountain Dew was able to keep the brand in the spotlight throughout the campaign while achieving a huge increase in mentions of its brand online. In addition, the brand also delighted fans of the Parks and Recreation series (Department of Urban Greenspace) as two of the show's central characters - actress Aubrey Plaza and her series co-star Nick Offerman - appeared in the ad. In the Czech Republic, the ad achieved only three stars, and domestic experts were not very impressed.
Dunkin' Donuts also ran a campaign in the weeks leading up to the final game, sharing trailers and behind-the-scenes videos. The communication was a follow-up to last year's spot, which featured Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. This time, however, Ben is not working at a Dunkin' Donuts location, but will be forming a boy band called DunKings with Matt Damon and Tom Brady. In the Czech ratings, this ad ended up at the tail end of the ranking with an average rating of 2.44 stars.
A creative idea is often better than a celebrity cast
Among the best-executed commercials of this year's Super Bowl are a spot from candy maker Reese's and an ad from streaming platform Pluto TV.
In the spot, Reese's announced an upcoming change to its fudge cupcakes. However, it conveyed this news to its consumers in a very chaotic way, which caused a huge emotional avalanche, with people alternating between feelings of happiness, fear, and great excitement. In the Creative Effect Index (an Ipsos metric), the ad scored 187, well above the 70-130 norm, making it one of the top 7% of ads in terms of creativity in Ipsos' overall database.
Using light humour, Pluto TV presented itself as a farm growing "couch potatoes", i.e. people who sit in front of the TV all the time. Pluto simply acknowledged what streaming is all about and paired it with a phrase that has mostly negative connotations, but combined with the farm setting, it managed to create a very funny and enjoyable ad that ranked in the top 3% in terms of creativity in the Ipsos database.
Even ads without humour can be successful
As already suggested, not every Super Bowl ad needs to have celebrity or over-the-top humor to be effective and successful. Again this year, there have been ads that do not use wit and humor, but target a different type of emotion. One such example is a spot by cosmetics manufacturer Dove, which uses real and emotional moments at the beginning depicting the hardships of young girls playing sports, interspersed with the song "It's The Hard Knock Life." However, the ad then takes a different direction and seeks to highlight another issue - the lack of self-esteem in girls playing sport and the influence of society on how they perceive themselves. The promotion of body positivity in girls resonated strongly with viewers.
Google's ad was also successful, showcasing a new feature of its Pixel 8 mobile phone. Google uses this spot to show that its technology can help communities th
A similar narrative was used by the car company Kia, which filmed an advertisement for its new type of electric car. However, the whole plot is set in a very moving story that brought tears to many people's eyes. Kia also scored well in the Czech internal ratings with this ad, coming in first place with an average rating of 4.2 stars.
Source: mediaguru.cz
